You file a police report because you are a victim of theft.
Not to later find your own address details in the suspect’s case file.
Last year, my brother and I went out for dinner at restaurant Le Grande George. A great evening… that ended with a stolen jacket.
What happened next was, to say the least, remarkable. Thanks to my NoLongLost keychain, I got a call from a friendly man: my keys were found in a trash bin. Shortly after, I also found my cards there. But my car keys, jacket and sunglasses were gone.
For insurance purposes, I filed a report with the police. Since there were camera recordings, the case was investigated further. Eventually, a suspect was identified and is now being prosecuted. That gave confidence.
Until I received a letter from the Public Prosecution Service.
It turned out that my name and address were included in the file and therefore shared with the suspect.
I immediately contacted both the Public Prosecution Service and the police.
What followed is a lesson I often share as an entrepreneur:
don’t give up and don’t take “no” for an answer.
The first response from the prosecution: “not ideal”, but I had to call the police.
The police then indicated there was little they could do and that I would be called back.
After that, I contacted the prosecution again and also reached out to victim support services.
Eventually, I was asked to send an email to the prosecution. And suddenly, it was handled quickly.
I was just in time. My address details could still be removed from the file, they had not yet been shared with the suspect 😅
I was told that this used to be standard procedure about a year ago. Since July 2025, address details are fortunately no longer automatically shared with suspects. An important and positive development.
👉 My tip to my network: be aware of how your personal data is handled, even by institutions you trust.
👉 And maybe even more important: don’t give up. Keep asking questions, keep calling when something doesn’t feel right. Often, more is possible than initially suggested. Then everything becomes possible!
And now I’m curious:
has anyone experienced something similar?
And what can you do legally or practically if your data has been shared and you want to ensure your safety?
All tips and experiences are welcome.
And of course, compliments to the police for catching the thief and improving their privacy procedures.
