Security Breaches to Police Infrastructure
Freedom of Information (FOI) Act request ref: 01/FOI/26/009630/W
Version Date: 23/03/2026
The Information Security Department has provided the following information:
in the last 10 years how many physical security breaches have there been to police infrastructure, what were the circumstance's of the breach and what was repercussions that followed.
Devon & Cornwall Police have had 108 physical security incidents reported between 1 Jan 2016 and 12 March 2026.
Due to the number of incidents and the recording methods used, I am unable to provide a detailed breakdown of all incidents however they can be divided into the following categories:
- 50 unauthorised access to estate/buildings/rooms/open carpark
- 21 insecure doors
- 13 Vetting
- 9 damage to property/estate
- 5 insecure gates
- 5 thefts from property/estate
- 3 auditors
- 1 drone
- 1 insecure window
Repercussions are as follows:
When the Information Assurance team are made aware of a physical breach it is recorded and graded to understand the risk to the estate, operational viability, people and data held at the location. If remedial work (door/gate/security aspects) are required, Buildings and Estates are informed. The Building Controller and/or Information Asset Owner is informed of the breach where a detailed investigation is required. Relevant communications are shared with officers and staff working at the location or the wider organisation to ensure that everyone is aware of the need to be mindful of security.
The Force has a Physical Security governance structure which sits at the strategic and business level of the organisation and looks to understand, investigate and mitigate risk to the business by using key stakeholders, including Information Assurance and Buildings and Estates to ensure stations are secure whilst remaining accessible to the public. Data Protection training is undertaken in Force on an annual basis and physical security is included within relevant training inputs as necessary.