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Scotland's Police Lose Data Because of Programmer's Error
Anne Thwacks writes Assistant Chief Constable Wayne Mawson told the [Scottish Police Authority] committee that a total of 20,086 records had been lost because a computer programmer pressed the wrong button between May and July last year. He added: "....they had been properly put on the system by the officers as a result of stopping and searching people, but we lost the outcome of it as a computer programming error. We have been working really hard to recover that data. I have personally overseen the sending out of several thousand emails to officers and follow-up audits. We have been working hard with HMICS to oversee everything that we do, to make sure it is done properly and I am pleased to say that the vast majority of that data, those results, are now back on the system."
At least this article admits to a level of "programmer error". However --- like most "computer error" news articles, this one misses a key point: This (like many others) is actually management error. Management failed to oversee programmers. Management failed implement test. Management failed.
I just wonder how much longer before software testing will get the respect it deserves.
Very convenient, and of course we all know programmers develop their code on the only copy of a live database (of which there are no backups)...
All your ghosts are just false positives.
"Programmer error" != some idiot pressing the wrong button.
If you want powerful software, you get powerful results. You also get powerful fuck-ups. Don't blame the person who coded it, blame the idiot who clicked through 4 different "are you REALLY SURE you want to do this" warnings.
"Well kids, you tried your best, and you failed. The lesson is, never try." -Homer Simpson
Stop and search just doesn't happen to rich people. Stop, maybe, but certainly not search.
[FUCK BETA]