Shamed Cop Abused Police Databases to Contact Domestic Abuse Victim

A former police officer who admitted to accessing police systems without a legitimate reason and contacting a domestic violence victim has been found guilty of gross misconduct and would have been dismissed without notice if still serving.

The misconduct hearing, held on April 15, 2025, revealed that the former officer unlawfully accessed sensitive data on multiple individuals, including a domestic violence victim they later contacted, as well as others unrelated to any policing duties. The audit of police systems showed that between January 2023 and June 2024, the officer accessed 33 entries across several dates, with no valid policing purpose.

According to the findings, the former officer used their police-issued mobile phone to send unsolicited text messages and make calls to a domestic abuse victim over a six-day period in June 2024. They were later interviewed and admitted to the data breaches and contacting the victim. The officer further volunteered details of additional data breaches involving neighbours and others, which were unknown to investigators at the time.

On 28 August 2024, the officer received a conditional caution after admitting an offence under Section 170 of the Data Protection Act 2018.

Chief Constable Amanda Pearson, who chaired the hearing, said: “There can be no doubt whatsoever that their actions were unlawful and wrong.” She concluded that the former officer’s conduct “discredits the police service and significantly undermines public trust and confidence.”

Despite having retired from the force on 30 September 2024, the officer’s actions were deemed so serious that only a dismissal without notice would have been appropriate if they were still serving. The Chief Constable determined that the officer’s culpability and the resulting harm to public confidence were high, and that mitigating factors—such as remorse, medical evidence, and a previously clean conduct record—were not sufficient to reduce the severity of the sanction.

The hearing confirmed that the officer had breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour relating to Discreditable Conduct, Authority, Respect and Courtesy, and Confidentiality. Their name will now be placed on the College of Policing’s barred list.