Police Scotland faces scrutiny over a significant rise in data breaches, with calls for stronger data protection measures.
That number was 346 back in 2020, climbing in most of those years. “Security incidents” also rose steadily, with 974 incidents in 2024 compared to 484 in 2020. Police state all incidents don’t cause breaches.
In 2025, they already had 108 security incidents and 50 data loss cases. An expert wants stronger rules for public bodies. They should be punished for breaking data laws.
He finds the large number of police incidents worrying, as police handle sensitive data. Wrong hands could cause real harm. Peter Todd got the data and has issues with the police because they hold data about him.
Police visited Todd’s home last year after John Swinney’s office reported him. It involved data the government gave Todd by mistake. Todd calls it “incompetent” and thinks they save face for senior staff. He argues they can’t protect public data and budget cuts hurt policing too.
Chief Constable Farrell warned about tax hikes and is reviewing recruitment, as officer numbers are below 17,000. Liam Kerr finds the breaches alarming. People worry about sensitive information.
Kerr blames underfunding for the police’s issues, saying SNP cuts impacted resources. Ministers should fix this quickly to stop future breaches.
Police Scotland says they follow data protection laws and train staff on data protection yearly. Every report gets checked, issues are fixed, and they act accordingly. They state they have strong systems in place, managing security and data breaches.