Former police officer jailed for 15 months
A FORMER Luton police officer found guilty of conspiracy to commit an act of misconduct in a public office after accessing sensitive information on police computers without a valid policing purpose has today been sentenced to 15 months in jail.
Hannah Quince, 29, from Bedford, was sentenced at St Albans Crown Court today, alongside co-defendants Christopher Shri, 30, and Ben Sturge, 30, who were each handed nine month sentences.
A jury at St Albans Crown Court found them guilty after a trial in which the court heard they had asked the former police officer to search police computers to find out what the force knew about Sturge’s criminal activities.
The court was told that in November 2010, Quince’s boyfriend Shri was associated with individuals suspected of serious criminal offences, and Shri’s lifelong friend Sturge was wanted for questioning at the time about his alleged part in a conspiracy to possess a firearm.
The Crown successfully showed that in the days immediately before Sturge surrendered for arrest for the firearms offence, Quince had accessed sensitive information from police computers, which would have given Sturge a significant advantage in his subsequent police interviews. This information was passed back to Sturge via Shri.
Quince resigned from Bedfordshire Police in January 2011 after being suspended from duty. She pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to possession of cocaine.
She had been a police officer for six-years, and was based at Luton Police Station and worked to tackle problem prostitution in the High Town area.
Luke Bulpitt, Crown Advocate for the Complex Casework Unit at Thames and Chiltern Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said: “Acts of this nature by police officers are extremely rare, but the prosecuting authorities recognise the potential for damage to the relationship between the police and the community it serves and, therefore, treat a case of this nature with the utmost seriousness.
“This thorough investigation and robust prosecution demonstrates that not only those who abuse their position as a police officer, but also those who conspire with them to do so, and seek to gain from their doing so will be pursued, prosecuted and punished. The courts have repeatedly made clear the need for deterrent sentences in these cases and the sentences imposed today reflect that.”
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Friday 25 May 2012
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more info
Friday, February 24, 2012 at 08:31 PMThis not only highlights the incompetence and unprofessionalism of our force but also how many instances of misconduct there really are within it. Thames Valley Police force have a notorious reputation for being one of the worst performing in the country and for having a very large number of complaints raised against them. For information, in 2008 two complaints that were deemed upheld & substantiated were against the same officer within Thames Valley Police Force, DC Mark Torrington who is based in Banbury. The complaints were raised through the IPCC and after an investigation by the Thames Valley Police Professional Standards Dept (PSD) it was concluded that both complaints against were indeed upheld and substantiated. The complaints were for ‘Improper Disclosure of Information’ and the investigation report details that DC Torrington disclosed personal & private information and data to the complainants employer on a regular basis and continually providing ‘updates’ therefore breaching the Data Protection Act 1998. Due to this breach Thames Valley Police have also been reported to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). The second complaint which was also concluded as being upheld & substantiated was for ‘Mishandling of Property’. This involved the same officer, DC Torrington giving away various personal possessions & items of the complainants property to an unauthorized person and also without permission or even recording it. The investigation report details and concludes that DC Mark Torrington will receive Management Advice from the Area Commander as a result of his actions. This officer should have been prosecuted in the same way as any member of the public would have been! However this once again highlights the poor conduct of officers and the very low standard within Thames Valley Police which on many occasions just gets glossed over from the public. The actions of this officer are just one example of why Thames Valley Police have got such a poor reputation and proves that officers including DC Torrington obviously can not be trusted!! This not only highlights the incompetence and unprofessionalism of Thames Valley Police force but also how many instances of misconduct and incompetence there really are within it. Thames Valley Police force have a notorious reputation for being one of the worst performing in the country and for having a very large number of complaints raised against them. For information, in 2008 two complaints that were deemed upheld & substantiated were against the same officer within Thames Valley Police Force, DC Mark Torrington who is based in Banbury. The complaints were raised through the IPCC and after an investigation by the Thames Valley Police Professional Standards Dept (PSD) it was concluded that both complaints against were indeed upheld and substantiated. The complaints were for ‘Improper Disclosure of Information’ and the investigation report details that DC Torrington disclosed personal & private information and data to the complainants employer on a regular basis and continually providing ‘updates’ therefore breaching the Data Protection Act 1998. Due to this breach Thames Valley Police have also been reported to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). The second complaint which was also concluded as being upheld & substantiated was for ‘Mishandling of Property’. This involved the same officer, DC Torrington giving away various personal possessions & items of the complainants property to an unauthorized person and also without permission or even recording it. The investigation report details and concludes that DC Mark Torrington will receive Management Advice from the Area Commander as a result of his actions. This officer should have been prosecuted in the same way as any member of the public would have been! However this once again highlights the poor conduct of officers and the very low standard within Thames Valley Police which on many occasions just gets glossed over from the public. The actions of this officer are just one example of why Thames Valley Police have got such a poor reputation and proves that officers including DC Torrington obviously can not be trusted!!
more info
Friday, February 24, 2012 at 08:25 PMThis not only highlights the incompetence and unprofessionalism of our force but also how many instances of misconduct there really are within it. Thames Valley Police force have a notorious reputation for being one of the worst performing in the country and for having a very large number of complaints raised against them. For information, in 2008 two complaints that were deemed upheld & substantiated were against the same officer within Thames Valley Police Force, DC Mark Torrington who is based in Banbury. The complaints were raised through the IPCC and after an investigation by the Thames Valley Police Professional Standards Dept (PSD) it was concluded that both complaints against were indeed upheld and substantiated. The complaints were for ‘Improper Disclosure of Information’ and the investigation report details that DC Torrington disclosed personal & private information and data to the complainants employer on a regular basis and continually providing ‘updates’ therefore breaching the Data Protection Act 1998. Due to this breach Thames Valley Police have also been reported to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). The second complaint which was also concluded as being upheld & substantiated was for ‘Mishandling of Property’. This involved the same officer, DC Torrington giving away various personal possessions & items of the complainants property to an unauthorized person and also without permission or even recording it. The investigation report details and concludes that DC Mark Torrington will receive Management Advice from the Area Commander as a result of his actions. This officer should have been prosecuted in the same way as any member of the public would have been! However this once again highlights the poor conduct of officers and the very low standard within Thames Valley Police which on many occasions just gets glossed over from the public. The actions of this officer are just one example of why Thames Valley Police have got such a poor reputation and proves that officers including DC Torrington obviously can not be trusted!! This not only highlights the incompetence and unprofessionalism of Thames Valley Police force but also how many instances of misconduct and incompetence there really are within it. Thames Valley Police force have a notorious reputation for being one of the worst performing in the country and for having a very large number of complaints raised against them. For information, in 2008 two complaints that were deemed upheld & substantiated were against the same officer within Thames Valley Police Force, DC Mark Torrington who is based in Banbury. The complaints were raised through the IPCC and after an investigation by the Thames Valley Police Professional Standards Dept (PSD) it was concluded that both complaints against were indeed upheld and substantiated. The complaints were for ‘Improper Disclosure of Information’ and the investigation report details that DC Torrington disclosed personal & private information and data to the complainants employer on a regular basis and continually providing ‘updates’ therefore breaching the Data Protection Act 1998. Due to this breach Thames Valley Police have also been reported to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO). The second complaint which was also concluded as being upheld & substantiated was for ‘Mishandling of Property’. This involved the same officer, DC Torrington giving away various personal possessions & items of the complainants property to an unauthorized person and also without permission or even recording it. The investigation report details and concludes that DC Mark Torrington will receive Management Advice from the Area Commander as a result of his actions. This officer should have been prosecuted in the same way as any member of the public would have been! However this once again highlights the poor conduct of officers and the very low standard within Thames Valley Police which on many occasions just gets glossed over from the public. The actions of this officer are just one example of why Thames Valley Police have got such a poor reputation and proves that officers including DC Torrington obviously can not be trusted!!
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