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Police investigations have been compromised by an error that led to hundreds of thousands of records being deleted from UK-wide databases, according to a letter seen by the BBC.
The National Police Chiefs Council said 213,000 records were deleted - more than the 150,000 first reported.
This resulted in a couple of near misses for serious crimes when trying to identify an offender, it said.
The Home Office has said it is assessing the impact of the mistake.
Data including fingerprint, DNA, and arrest histories was wiped from the Police National Computer (PNC) - which stores and shares criminal records information across the UK - after being inadvertently flagged for deletion.
| UPDATED: 13:03, Fri, Jan 15, 2021
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Fingerprint, DNA and arrest history records were all deleted from the Police National Computer database due to a technological glitch. The police may now be hindered in their ability to reopen investigations of closed cases if more evidence appears in the future. The former head of the Cumbria police force, Stuart Hyde, has said there is now a “risk to public safety” and warned the blunder may hinder attempts to safeguard the vulnerable.