TOMS RIVER – After a malfunction, some documents on a police database were potentially able to be accessed by non-police, according to a statement released by Chief Mitch Little.
The incident began on Aug. 2, when it was discovered that the Computer Assisted Dispatch server was not working right and would not start when rebooted.
“Toms River immediately launched an investigation and retained third-party forensic experts to assist in the investigation and determine whether information on the server was potentially accessible to unknown individuals,” the chief wrote.
This server was used for the town’s Spillman database, which is public safety software. An independent investigation determined that the contents of this database was not subject to unauthorized access, Little said. However, it was learned that certain documents could have been accessed. These documents were uploaded to the server and attached to case files.
“On Sept. 7, after a lengthy programmatic and manual review, Toms River determined the types of protected information contained in the documents and to which individuals the information relates, and immediately launched a review of its files to ascertain address information for the impacted individuals,” the statement read. “Toms River will be mailing notices to the approximately 3,700 individuals whose information was contained in these potentially compromised documents.”
