A police force that lost nearly three years worth of body-worn camera footage from its computer systems says it does not believe it has been hacked.
South Yorkshire Police believes the footage, filmed between July 2020 and May 2023, has instead been deleted and an estimated 69 cases have potentially been affected.
The force said it was working closely with victims and the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) as it tries to work out “how and why” the data was removed.
South Yorkshire Police said it was working with experts to recover the footage, which was filmed by officers as they attended incidents or engaged with the public.
In some cases, the footage could be used as evidence in court.
The force referred itself to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) after noticing “a significant and unexplained reduction in data stored on its systems”.
Asked on Wednesday whether the data loss is thought to involve a hack, a spokeswoman said: “All of the information available to us at present suggests the data has been deleted.
“We are exploring how and why the data was deleted.
“There is no suggestion our systems have been hacked.”
The loss is the latest data-related controversy to hit UK police forces this month.
It follows an admission by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) that personal data on all its serving members was mistakenly published in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request.
The revelation of the PSNI breach was followed by Norfolk and Suffolk Police’s announcement that the personal data of more than 1,000 people, including crime victims, was included in another FOI response.
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South Yorkshire Assistant Chief Constable Rick Alton said: “I am deeply sorry this has occurred and after we became aware of the loss in data, we notified the Information Commissioner’s Office and began work to attempt to recover it.
“We’ve had a team of people working around the clock to manually check each case currently within the criminal justice system.
“We’ve brought in digital forensics specialists to explore how this data loss occurred and to establish if the data can be recovered.”
Mr Alton added: “We will provide an update concerning this when further work has been undertaken. Whilst we remain hopeful, there are no guarantees, so it’s important the victims and the wider public are informed.”
South Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner Alan Billings said: “I have been made aware of a loss of data from the force’s storage systems and the work that is taking place to recover the data.
“There may be implications for victims and witnesses and the wider criminal justice system as some of this footage may be evidence in upcoming court cases. The force is working through the implications and direct contact is being made with those affected.”