A POLICE force has accidentally published a list of the personal details of more than 1,600 people who had been tasered, handcuffed, pepper sprayed or restrained by officers between April and June this year.

Cleveland Police said it became aware on September 28 that the spreadsheet had been accidentally published on its website.

The force is required to publish data on officers' use of force and uploaded an excel spreadsheet on July 24 which contained two data tabs.

One was a redacted version which would normally be published and an extra tab which contained the personal information of 1,661 people who were subjected to police force within a three-month period.

The personal information included names, dates of birth, ethnicity, and some health and wellbeing data, but did not include home addresses.

It also showed the names, collar numbers and training details of officers and staff who had used the force on the individual person.

A spokeswoman for the force said: "We have been able to see that the entire spreadsheet has been accessed on a small number of occasions during the time it was in the public domain.

"However as the spreadsheet shows the redacted information first, it’s likely many of these people did not click on the additional data tab at the bottom of the screen.

"As soon we were made aware of the data breach, steps were taken to remove the information from public view and the breach was referred to the Information Commissioner.

"An investigation by the Cleveland Police Directorate of Standards and Ethics found that the incident occurred due to human error.

"Safeguards have been put in place to reduce the risk of a similar incident happening in the future."

Chief Superintendent Ciaron Irvine said: “Cleveland Police takes its responsibilities over the proper handling of personal information very seriously and I am particularly disappointed that this has happened.

"The public can be assured that we have acted swiftly to minimise the impact of this data breach and will ensure that we do everything we can to prevent a similar occurrence in future.”

Anyone who was subject to use of force either before or after an arrest between April 1 and June 30 can get in touch with the force on 101.

'Use of force' includes complaint or non complaint handcuffing, use of dogs, drawing or use of a baton, limb or body restraints, use of taser, shield, irritant spray, baton rounds, firearms and unarmed skills including strikes, restraints and take-downs.

Cleveland Police are considering efforts to contact those affected directly, however anyone who believes they will be affected can have their concerns addressed by calling 101 citing reference number 182835.