Police notebook with gang details stolen from car
West Midlands police has apologised after a notebook containing information on young people at risk from or associated with gangs was stolen from an unattended unmarked car.
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The force said officers were involved in a foot chase in the Ladywood area of Birmingham on 29 May during which time the notebook was stolen from the car, though details about the incident have only now been released.
Formal letters were sent to people whose details were in the notebook offering them support, the police said, adding they have referred the incident to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
The force said it believed the theft had not put anyone directly at risk, but community activist Bishop Desmond Jaddoo said families whose details were in the book, including the parents of a 14-year-old boy, have approached him saying they have been threatened. People