An unintentional erasure has plagued the United Kingdom’s government as employees rush to recover data. A technical issue seemingly caused 150,000 arrest records to be wiped from nationwide police databases. Initial investigation has pointed to human error and defective code that earmarked the wrong files for deletion as the culprit. The records consisted of over 150,000 fingerprints, DNA records, arrest history, and other details.
The error could potentially allow for offenders to escape justice as biometric evidence captured from crime scenes no longer exists in the database on the Police National Computer. The error also impacted the UK’s visa system, leading to the suspension of applications for two days. Sources state that the records were accidentally wiped during data expunging sessions in which unnecessary data is cleared out.
Read More: UK Accidentally Deletes 150k Arrest Records