The Cornwall Police Service is the latest police unit in eastern Ontario to suspend its use of Crime Stoppers following a reported data breach involving a third-party platform used by Crime Stoppers. In a statement on Monday morning, the police service said it was aware of the date breach and has temporarily suspended its use of Crime Stoppers out of “an abundance of caution.” “Public trust is essential to effective policing, and people who come forward with information must have confidence that their safety and privacy are taken seriously,” Deputy Chief Chad Maxwell said in a statement. “We recognize the concerns this incident may raise and have taken precautionary steps while we work to better understand the situation.” Several police services, including the Ottawa Police Service and Kingston Police, have suspended the use of Crime Stoppers following a CBC News report into the data breach of U.S.-based Navigate 360’s P3 platform. Crime Stoppers used Navigates360’s P3 platform to receive and manage public tips. “The potentially impacted information may include name, address, date of birth, social security numbers, telephone numbers, email addresses, and other categories of sensitive information,” a Navigate360 said last Friday in a news release. The Cornwall Police Service says it has not received confirmation that information submitted through the local program has been affected. Cornwall police say members of the public can report crimes or other information directly to the Cornwall Police Service at 613-932-2110. In emergency situations, call 911. “While the CPS takes the protection of personal information seriously and handles it in accordance with its privacy and information security obligations, reporting directly to police may not offer the same anonymity as Crime Stoppers,” Cornwall police said.
