A Victoria police officer’s notebook containing individuals’ personal information was left behind at the scene of a police search, and was temporarily in the possession of someone known to police who is suspected of criminal activity, the department says.
The notebook, containing names, addresses and vehicle information, was missing for eight days in February.
Police have no reason to believe anyone whose information was included in the notebook is at risk, but those potentially affected have been informed and given safety tips “out of an abundance of caution,” said VicPD spokesperson Cheryl Major.
Those tips include staying in a secondary location, locking their doors and allowing police to flag their addresses with a “hazard flag” to alert 911 operators and police of a possible threat at the residence if they call police, according to a letter written by VicPD and shared with the Times Colonist.
Officers take inventory of police equipment during search warrants, but in this case, the lost notebook was not identified during the inventory, Major said.
The notebook was lost on Feb. 14, and the department did not become aware it was missing until Feb. 20, the letter says.
It’s the second time in a little over a year that an officer’s notebook with personal information has been lost. In February 2023, VicPD said an officer’s notebook that contained the names of about 60 people related to police activity or investigations was lost in December 2022.
Aislin Jackson, policy staff counsel for the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, said the two incidents are surprising because of the importance of police notebooks in the criminal process and for police oversight.
“Sometimes human error happens. Things do get lost or misplaced. But my expectation would be that they’re keeping a close enough eye on these notebooks that they would find out within 48 hours after the fact. Not close to a week later,” Jackson said.
The length of time between the notebook being misplaced and reported missing in the most recent incident suggests this is a systemic issue and raises questions about the effectiveness of systems currently in place to monitor police notebooks, Jackson said.
Police notebooks are an important record of police activity and are used in criminal trials as evidence and can be used when reviewing police activity, such as in the recent Mass Casualty Commission in Nova Scotia, Jackson noted.
The public inquiry into the April 18 and 19 mass shooting in Nova Scotia that left 22 people dead heavily examined officers’ notes, Jackson said.
“So it’s very important that the public and the courts can maintain our confidence in the integrity of these notebooks and the note-taking process.”
Jackson said it’s encouraging that VicPD notified the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of the first breach, because the OIPC can examine the systems in place in the department and make recommendations.
“It may be the case that this isn’t a common occurrence, but given how sensitive this information is, it should be unheard of,” Jackson said.
After the December 2022 incident, VicPD informed the Office of the Police Complaint Commissioner and asked it to order an external investigation.
The officer who lost his notebook and did not report it was found guilty of misconduct and given a verbal reprimand as a result of the OPCC investigation, Major said.
VicPD updated its notebook policy in April 2023 and officers are required to report a lost, found or damaged notebook to a supervisor “as soon as practicable,” Major said.
In the most recent case, the officer notified superiors as soon as they realized the notebook was missing, she said.
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