Subject: Should heads roll at Focus on the Child?

I don't see the point of making heads roll here - it seems to me it's a systemic issue, & it's too easy to think that firing one person solves the problem.  BUT I think Siobhan should be having a serious discussion with Pete about where he's at, why he felt he could break the rules, & sensitivity about colleagues (the guy he thought might be guilty).  And Linda should be doing the equivalent with Siobhan.

I agree entirely with Ruth: there's a danger of making Pete the scapegoat but in fact the charity has somehow drifted into a state (including Pete's overload and Siobhan's attitude to the organisation) where the missing laptop has become an issue.  Now the imperative is for everybody to work constructively to change the attitudes to data protection etc 

Martin

Well, I never thought it would end like this. In my experience what more usually happens is that haressed Pete mislayed his laptop and the new cleaner is blamed.

More seriously though the resolution of this tale raises a series of questions;

1. Is the charity insured for theft?

2. Why was the office so insecure that someone could walk in off the street and steal a laptop?

3. Most businesses dealing with the public have CCTV; surely a charity with such sensitive clients as children should instal CCTV?

4. Most of all there is a 'bad' attitude in the charity towards security; how is Siobhan going to grip this and change attitudes?

But also, why weren't the ICT policies in place? Pete was meant to have implemented them. Hopefully this will lead to a review and they will be more careful about security in the future.

Do charities really have CCTV in their offices?

It would be a concern to me that the report of the theft was delayed so long. If the thief was interested in the data the employees might have faced substantial losses by the time they knew to check their accounts.

Confusing the emotional (who is 'right' and 'wrong' etc) with the practicalities of dealing with the reality of the loss is not useful to anyone.