Regina police release confidential police logs in erroneous mass email

Regina police erroneously sent a mass email out on Sunday that contained confidential police logs with personal information and responses to calls in the city that day.

Names, addresses and dates of birth of people in police responses to incidents across the city were included in the logs were sent to various organizations and media. The logs also contained brief descriptions of the situations officers were responding to and the people involved.

"Even though it was released by mistake, we are obligated to report the breach and work with the [Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner] to mitigate the effects of our error and accept suggestion to prevent such an error in the future," Elizabeth Popowich, manager of public information and strategic communication, wrote in a follow up email later that night. 

All of the information was contained in a three page PDF document and was prepared by a member of the RPS.

The RPS notes on its website that personal information must only be used for the purpose of why it was gathered, and consent of the subject is required if the information is used for any other purpose.

"The RPS protects personal information through the use of security safeguards. Some examples of safeguards are computer passwords, policies and procedures and locked file rooms," the page reads.

To contain the breach, Popowich asked that everyone who received the email delete it and notify the Freedom of Information and Privacy coordinator with the RPS. It also requests anyone who has viewed the information to keep it confidential and not distribute it further.

"If we see that you or your agency use any of the information from this Watch Commander's Log, we will proceed as if you have knowingly ignored the above-mentioned disclaimer, as well as this email," Popowich writes. 

"If there is an unauthorized use or disclosure of personal health information, the public body must notify the affected individual if the 'incident creates a real risk of significant harm' to the affected individual," privacy breach guidelines from the Saskatchewan privacy commissioner advises. 

The guidelines also recommend an investigation into the breach take place to look at how the breach occurred, the nature of the breach and its relation to public policy and legislation.

The RPS declined to comment on how many people had received the email, who received it and whether or not the people whose names were in the document have been notified. 

It also declined to answer questions about how the error occurred and if the person responsible faced any disciplinary action.  

CBC has contacted the office of the privacy commissioner for comment.