Data breaches can occur within the police through cyberattacks as well as human error, and police forces have experienced a number of security incidents since 2022.
Police officers and staff have access to vast amounts of personal data, which can include information such as a person’s name, phone number, email or address.
As a result, data breach incidents can occur where this personal data is destroyed, altered or lost either accidentally or unlawfully, which can lead to a victim experiencing financial loss or psychological harm.
According to a study conducted by VPNoverview in 2020, UK police forces suffered more than 2,000 data breaches across the year, highlighting both the threat from ransomware used by cyber criminals as well as malicious insiders who may be working for the police.
To gain a true understanding of the number of data breaches experienced by the police, Data Breach Claims UK set out to investigate.
How Data Breach Claims UK Can Help
If you’ve suffered damage as a result of a police data breach, either to your mental health or to your finances, we could help you make a compensation claim. Our panel of dedicated data breach solicitors specialise in helping people get the compensation they deserve. They’ve helped hundreds of people and can help you too. Reach out to us today to get a free case check.
How We Conducted Our Research Into Police Data Breaches
We sent a Freedom of Information (FOI) request to all UK police forces, asking how many data breach incidents have taken place within the forces in the last three years. (Broken down by years 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25)
We also asked if these figures could be broken down by types of incident as well as the number of claims submitted and if any compensation has been paid out. (Broken down by years 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/25)
Avon and Somerset
No. of police data breaches – Avon and Somerset
- 2022/23 – 94
- 2023/24 – 121
- 2024/25 – 48
Bedfordshire
No. of police data breaches – Bedfordshire
- 2024 – 18
- 2025 – 20
Cambridgeshire
No. of police data breaches – Cambridgeshire
- 2024 – 38
- 2025 – 29
Cheshire
No. of police data breaches – Cheshire
- 2022/23 – 303
- 2023/24 – 401
- 2024/25 – 363
Cumbria
No. of police data breaches – Cumbria
- 2022/23 – 40
- 2023/24 – 99
- 2024/25 – 113
Dyfed-Powys
No. of police data breaches – Dyfed-Powys
- 2022 – 104
- 2023 – 134
- 2024 – 126
- 2025 – 42
Essex
No. of police data breaches – Essex
- 2023/24 – 344
- 2024/25 – 551
Hertfordshire
No. of police data breaches – Hertfordshire
- 2024 – 57
- 2025 – 50
Gwent
No. of police data breaches – Gwent
- 2022/23 – 7
- 2023/24 – 22
- 2024/25 – 14
Lincolnshire
No. of police data breaches – Lincolnshire
- 2022/23 – 91
- 2023/24 – 84
- 2024/25 – 107
North Yorkshire
No. of police data breaches – North Yorkshire
- 2022 – 92
- 2023 – 73
- 2024 – 86
- 2025 – 42
Scotland
No. of police data breaches – Scotland
- 2022/23 – 461
- 2023/24 – 461
- 2024/25 – 476
Durham
No. of police data breaches – Durham
- 2022/23 – 127
- 2023/24 – 108
- 2024/25 – 122
Merseyside
No. of police data breaches – Merseyside
- 2023/24 – 26
- 2024/25 – 31
North Wales
No. of police data breaches – North Wales
- 2022 – 88
- 2023 – 78
- 2024 – 114
- 2025 – 61
Nottinghamshire
No. of police data breaches – Nottinghamshire
- 2022/23 – 46
- 2023/24 – 72
- 2024/25 – 81
Northumbria
No. of police data breaches – Northumbria
- 2022/23 – 33
- 2023/24 – 54
- 2024/25 – 50
Lancashire
No. of police data breaches – Lancashire
- 2024 – 625
- 2025 – 309*
London
No. of police data breaches – London
- 2022/23 – 573
- 2023/24 – 765
- 2024/25 – 933
South Wales
No. of police data breaches – South Wales
- 2022 – 149
- 2023 – 176
- 2024 – 274
- 2025 – 119*
Wiltshire
No. of police data breaches – Wiltshire
- 2022/23 – 89
- 2023/24 – 94
- 2024/25 – 121
Surrey
No. of police data breaches – Surrey
- 2022 – 79
- 2023 – 98
- 2024 – 161
- 2025 – 57*
Sussex
No. of police data breaches – Sussex
- 2022/23 – 108
- 2023/24 – 156
- 2024/25 – 175
Staffordshire
No. of police data breaches – Staffordshire
- 2022/23 – 227
- 2023/24 – 539
- 2024/25 – 405