Error Investigation 9
Error by:
Public Authority
Human or
Technical:
Human
Cause:
Incorrect day of the month used to resolve a particular IP
address.
Data Acquired:
Subscriber information relating to an IP address.
Description:
A police force was investigating child sexual exploitation by
a particular username on social media. A suspect had been
identified and arrested. The applicant wished to establish
from where the suspect had been accessing his social
media account. They carried out subscriber checks for the
IP addresses where the account was first registered, when
the images had been shared, and before and after his arrest.
When the IP information was passed to the CSP, the wrong
date was typed in. This generated an incorrect result, outside
the force area, in addition to correct results for those requests
which had been typed in correctly. An enquiry was made with
the occupant of the incorrect address. The police who visited
the address found an elderly woman who had no connection to
the suspect. This caused the police to look again at their data,
at which point they realised the mistake.
Consequence:
The police contacted an individual unconnected with their
investigation.
Error Investigation 10
Error by:
Public Authority
Human or
Technical:
Human
Cause:
Telephone number incorrectly recorded within a witness
statement.
Data Acquired:
Subscriber information relating to a mobile telephone number.
www.iocco-uk.info
71