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Police investigate after details of crime victims, suspects and witnesses made public

Kent Police has launched an investigation after personal details of crime victims, suspects and witnesses were made public in council papers.

Crime reports relating to the Cricketers pub in Rainham were included in the supplementary agenda of Medway Council’s licensing hearing panel meeting on Tuesday.

And although certain details had been redacted (blacked out) manually by Kent Police, the pen marks still left some personal details such as names, mobile numbers, and addresses visible to the eye.

The Cricketers pub, Rainham Picture: Google Streetview
The Cricketers pub, Rainham Picture: Google Streetview

These include victims of sexual assault, ABH, battery and theft – as well as a witness willing to give evidence.

The documents are no longer publicly available after the Local Democracy Reporting Service informed both Kent Police and Medway Council of the problem.

Adrian Futers, head of information security at Kent Police, said: “We have been made aware of an issue with a redacted licensing document which was shared with a partner agency.

“Officers are reviewing the matter to assess the information and what action may be necessary in terms of personal information it holds.

“Current practices of redacting documents are also being reviewed to ensure this does not happen."

Medway Council says the evidence was made public as is standard practice when authorities such as Kent Police supply information for licensing reviews.

Perry Holmes, chief legal officer, added: “As soon as we became aware of a possible issue with a meeting report we had been sent from a partner agency, we immediately removed the item from our website.”

The Cricketers pub agreed to ditch its makeshift dancefloor, have four door staff when the pub is open post-11pm, and host only 10 pre-booked events every year after a series of late-night incidents.

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