A serving and former Cambridgeshire police officer allegedly shared ‘sensitive material’ from a crime victim’s mobile phone, MyLondon can reveal. A source claimed an officer used their personal phone to take an image of compromising material on the victim’s phone without a good reason.
On Wednesday (April 24), the police watchdog told MyLondon it was directing an investigation along with Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire’s (BCH) professional standards department. In March, after a year long probe which began in January 2023, the Independent Office of Police Conduct passed a file to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision.
Cambridgeshire Constabulary also confirmed a former officer had been arrested in December 2021 on suspicion of misconduct in public office and was released under investigation. A spokesperson for the force said a serving officer had also been interviewed on suspicion of the same offence and was now suspended while released under investigation.
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An IOPC spokesperson said: “A serving Cambridgeshire Constabulary officer and a former officer are both under criminal investigation for misconduct in public offence relating to an allegation that they shared personal and sensitive material obtained from the phone of a victim of crime, without a policing purpose.
“We are directing the investigation with enquiries being carried out by Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire’s (BCH) professional standards department. The investigation began in January 2023 and in March 2024, we referred a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service to consider whether the officers should be charged with an offence. The victim has been informed of this matter and is being provided with support.”
A Cambridgeshire Constabulary spokesperson said: “A former Cambridgeshire police officer was arrested in December 2021 on suspicion of misconduct in public office and was released under investigation. The investigation is ongoing and a misconduct hearing is still due to take place.
“As part of this investigation, in January 2023, a serving Cambridgeshire police officer was voluntarily interviewed on suspicion of misconduct in public office and released under investigation. The officer has been suspended while the investigation is ongoing. This is an IOPC controlled and directed investigations, so it would be inappropriate to comment any further.”
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