More than 70 Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers watched body-worn video footage of a drugs arrest for “fun and entertainment”, an investigation has found.

The images were accessed largely “without legitimate purpose” in 248 incidents at 20 police stations between 2019 and 2022; including a police officer who watched it 21 times.

The Office of the Police Ombudsman said “management action” had been taken against 74 officers in a bid to improve their conduct.

The PSNI said it had accepted three of the recommendations made by the Police Ombudsman and introduced additional safeguards in relation to the body warning video.

Another officer is the subject of an ongoing investigation into potential criminal conduct related to accessing material.

The footage shows a person being arrested for possession of illegal drugs.

‘Lack of awareness’

During the incident, the arresting police officer made the mistake of issuing a criminal warning, “causing a colleague to laugh in the background”.

Hugh Hume, chief executive of the Office of the Police Ombudsman, said: “The video may have been viewed for fun and entertainment, but the officers who made it showed little regard for the privacy of the arrested man or the emotional well-being of the relatives of the colleague featured in the video.

The issue came to light during a separate investigation.

“Responses from officers when asked to state their reasons for accessing the video revealed a distinct lack of awareness that doing so could constitute a criminal or misconduct offence,” Mr Hume said.

“Some officers have stated in their responses that they have refreshed their knowledge of PSNI guidance on body-worn video as a result of the investigation, which I welcome.”

‘Significant residual risk’

He said the “management action” approach was a “reasonable and proportionate outcome”.

The PSNI has adopted a set of recommendations designed to address the misuse of body-worn video.

However, he rejected a proposed immersion sampling exercise (random review) “to assess the scale of unauthorized access to the body-worn video system.”

The PSNI said an independent review had been initiated, alongside bottom sampling by line managers through our newly established Service Accountability Panel, and was satisfied that this “reached the same conclusion”.

“Given the weaknesses in the control of access to body-worn video, we consider that there remains a significant risk that private and personal data may be accessed without a legitimate policing purpose,” Mr Hume said.

He added that the ombudsman’s findings were shared with the Information Commissioner’s Office.

Assistant Chief Constable Chris Todd said the PSNI had a range of measures in place to “ensure officers are aware of their responsibilities in relation to the legal requirements around acceptable use and the Data Protection implications of viewing body-worn images”.

“Following the outcome of the Police Ombudsman investigation, the force has taken appropriate management action and will continue to keep procedures and policies regarding access to body-worn video under ongoing review,” he said.