Kent Police blunder makes crime victims' details public

Personal details of crime victims, suspects and witnesses have been made public by Kent Police by mistake.

The information was in crime reports shared by the force with Medway Council which included them in an agenda.

Details had been redacted manually by Kent Police, but some remained visible, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS).

Kent Police said the matter was being reviewed. Medway Council said the agenda had been taken off its website.

The crime reports relating to the Cricketers pub in Rainham were included in papers for Medway Council's licensing hearing panel meeting on Tuesday.

Following manual redactions, pen marks left some personal information visible, including details of victims of sex assault, actual bodily harm, battery and theft - as well as a witness willing to give evidence.

Action was taken after the LDRS informed Kent Police and Medway Council of the problem.

'Immediately removed'

Adrian Futers, Kent Police head of information security, said: "We have been made aware of an issue with a redacted licensing document which was shared with a partner agency.

"Officers are reviewing the matter to assess the information and what action may be necessary in terms of personal information it holds.

"Current practices of redacting documents are also being reviewed."

Medway Council said the documents were made public according to standard practice.

Perry Holmes, the council's chief legal officer, said: "As soon as we became aware of a possible issue with a meeting report we had been sent from a partner agency, we immediately removed the item from our website."

The Cricketers agreed to ditch its makeshift dance floor, have four door staff on duty after 23:00 and host only 10 pre-booked events every year after a series of late-night incidents.