Police disclosed my details to a defendant - do I have grounds to sue?

[ShapeofanLonmyforehead]

Long story short, I was a witness in a stalking case and the defendant was given my full name and address, police have admitted a GDPR breach on their end and I was told it’s gone to the ICO but the officer in charge of the case said he believes they’ve missed 3 separate opportunities to redact my information in court/from my statement and subsequently was given to the defendant.

This has resulted in me being contacted by the defendant who got all suspended sentences and is now out - I, obviously feel extremely on edge constantly and am full of anxiety all of the time.

A friend thinks I have grounds to sue. I’m wondering if anyone here thinks it’s also worthwhile? I’m wondering if anyone who works as a solicitor has taken on similar cases and what the outcome is likely to be?

Genuinely, what conclusiom do you want from this? I would request the police take steps to keep me safe as a first step. What was the content and frequency of contact from the stalker? Enough to report to the police as criminal?

Sadly I think you need to take it as far as you can do it’s not swept under the carpet and dismissed with no learning

That isn't what the OP has asked.

Obviously this guy is a danger, he's been locked up ffs.

And how can the OP ask the police to keep her safe when they've revealed her address to the perpetrator?!! Ridiculous post.

OP, sorry this has happened. I hope someone with specialist knowledge will be along re legalities.

In the meantime, do you have anywhere to stay and can you get cameras set up?

I think there is a service aswell whereby the police have your details as a priority if you call them?

I am not sure what you will get through suing but I am not a lawyer. What I am aware of is that gdpr breaches don't typically attract large payouts unless there is very direct attributable costs. So if yoy want to have funds to put in place security measures at home to protect yourself, this may be helpful to sue. But if you are more angry and want lessons to be learned then ICO and the police ombudsman service (cant remember the right acronym) may be better.
Either way it's awful and I am sorry it has happened to you

Even without a pay out I would insist on further action to stop this happening to others. I posted on your previous thread with my fears about this happening.

Thanks all. I’m not sure what to expect from it but it just feel like nothing will be learned from this without some sort of legal action. An apology and a slap on the wrist isn’t really going to right the wrong and I doubt anyone on their end truly cares.

then again, legal action isn’t going to change what’s happened. I’m just destined to love anxiously in my house for the foreseeable.. or fork out to sell up and move from this house. Not really feasible at the moment though.

A lawsuit might help you towards moving costs and fees, and make that move more feasible for your own safety and peace of mind.

OP says he got a suspended sentence and is out. You then go on to essentially say the same as my "ridiculous" post, i.e. what steps can be taken to keep her safe. That is the immediate priority, litigation takes months to years to conclude in general, and that is if the OP has money to throw at solicitors.

OP, feel free to speak to solicitors about this, but umless you have suffered harm of a financially quantified type, I wouldn't expect thid to be a profitable venture. I would explore avenues such as the IPCC.

So the terms of his sentence include not contacting you?

Yes, you do have a case to sue. They’ve put you in danger.
Some solicitors offer a free half an hour conversation where they can give basic advice. I’d aim to do that or alternatively use a no win no fee solicitor. You’ll probably want to move, or have increased security at home - both of those things cost money and should be covered.

This has just happened to my friend and she is panicking.

I'm honestly in disbelief.

I don't know what she's doing but she has spoken to the police about it.