Japanese police lose 1,000 crime-scene photos stored on 20 memory cards

The Miyagi Prefectural Police confirmed the incident on March 26, stating it occurred at the Sendai Higashi Police Station in Sendai City, the prefectural capital, according to The Mainichi.

The loss was discovered on Feb. 28 during an inspection by an officer from the station’s community safety division. Although the memory cards were stored in a designated file at the police station, interviews with staff suggested they were likely discarded unintentionally.

Police noted that the lost memory cards contained images related to 14 cases, taken between 2018 and 2021. These images included photos of 23 individuals, including suspects and victims, as well as images containing personal details such as names and phone numbers, as reported by NHK.

Sendai Higashi Police Station issued a public notice on its website, stating that "no cases of misuse of personal information have been confirmed, but the possibility of data leaks cannot be ruled out."

The police station has set up a consultation service and provided a hotline number for those who may be affected or concerned by the incident.