What’s the price of privacy?
Information Commissioner’s Office
Client: Police Service of Northern Ireland
It was more than an admin error. It was a life-changing and potentially life-threatening moment for PSNI staff who often make great personal sacrifices to conceal their employment. The ICO had a significant role to play. We launched a crisis communications and engagement plan to run alongside our investigation. Our objectives were to: 1. Protect the ICO’s reputation by giving confidence that we uphold people’s rights, while also working sensitively with Northern Irish communities, both around the investigation and any subsequent fine. 2. Help prevent similar mistakes being made, by using the results of our investigation as a prompt for behaviour change among organisations, including the PSNI. Our strategy had five core pillars: - Get on the front foot and be proactive from the outset. - Recognise the human impact. - Protect our investigation. - Understand NI sensitivities. - Seize the moment to prevent similar errors. This resulted in: 218 media articles generated because of a fast and proactive response 100% of media coverage contained our safeguarding message and quotes from people impacted were used widely 181% uplift in website visits to spreadsheet guidance after our enforcement action Lessons learned exercise was instigated by PSNI, making changes to its policies and training
In a story that centred on fear and mistrust, the ICO was seen as a positive force and championed those most affected.