Disgraced cop, 55, spared prison term after admitting he abused police systems to snoop on his girlfriend's ex
- Reference: 1602069313
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/10/07/michael_westbury_police_computer_misuse/
- Source link:
Michael Westbury, 55, of Aberystwyth, Wales, confessed to seven charges under the Computer Misuse Act and two under the Data Protection Act at Aberystwyth Magistrates' Court on 1 October.
At the time he committed his crimes, Westbury was a constable with Dyfed-Powys Police. The Powys County Times [1]reported that he had "dishonourably" left the force after being caught "unlawfully accessing information about the ex-partner of a woman he was in a relationship with" at Aberystwyth Police Station in April and May last year.
Westbury was charged after the Office for Police Conduct, a regulator, launched an investigation following a referral by Dyfed-Powys Police.
District Judge David Parsons handed Westbury a suspended sentence of six months' imprisonment and 120 hours of community service, with the local paper reporting that the offender had an otherwise "unblemished record during 24 years of service". He must also pay a total of £207 in prosecution costs and victim surcharge tax.
Unlawfully accessing state databases is not an uncommon crime among police, though few ever face the courts for it. One who did was Metropolitan Police sergeant Okechukwu Efobi of Harrow, London, who was caught monitoring an ongoing criminal investigation that had nothing to do with him. Like Westbury, Efobi also [2]walked free from court with community service .
Statistics show that [3]prison sentences in Computer Misuse Act cases are unlikely , though some offenders do find themselves behind bars, usually if a victim suffers financial loss or similar harm. ®
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[1] https://www.countytimes.co.uk/news/18765150.suspended-prison-sentence-ex-dyfed-powys-police-officer/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2019/07/11/met_police_sgt_pleads_guilty_computer_misuse_crimes/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2019/05/29/computer_misuse_act_prosecutions_analysis/
[4] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Re: I thought this was SOP for police, fire service, ambulance, council etc etc
> He must have forgotten to make the standard anonymous call linking the target to something he could have a legitimate interest in. Silly boy...
Or just "accidentally mistyped" the target's car registration
Re: I thought this was SOP for police, fire service, ambulance, council etc etc
Or these days, 'smelled canabis' from his noddy car while passing the mark accidentially like...
Re: I thought this was SOP for police, fire service, ambulance, council etc etc
I thought you got a junior WPC to press the keys for you because you didn't know how to work it - then claim you didn't "access the computer"
But that's only for senior ranks
Victim surcharge.
"Several cases have been brought to our attention by the Youth Justice Board where this legislation has resulted in the parent or guardian of a juvenile becoming liable to pay the surcharge when they have in fact been the victim of the offence."
https://www.lawgazette.co.uk/law/victim-surcharge-unintended-consequences/71546.article
This feels proportionate
I'd normally see this as a simple sacking offence, but given it's police records prosecution doesn't feel excessive. The sentence is not unduly punitive either, with the real punishments being the loss of job and the challenges posed by a criminal record.
In a way it's nice to see but I'd be less comfortable if a one-off access of private data led to a prosecution for people working in the private sector.
Re: This feels proportionate
I don't quite agree. The police (and others) are acquiring more and more data, refusing to delete most of it, applying new and very intrusive technologies and procedures. And all the time they are saying "don't worry - only criminals need to worry".
Abuse of police data is much more serious than unauthorised access to any computer system containing commercial data, even if it is personal data. I would have expected to see some charges of "abuse of a public office" nature, not just computer misuse.
Of course, we don't know the details which went into the judge's sentencing, but I am disappointed that any abuse of police data can result in a non-custodial sentence. That should be top of mind for users whenever they access data on those systems.
Re: This feels proportionate
"...I am disappointed that any abuse of police data can result in a non-custodial sentence."
If the information towards the end of the article accurately reflects the situation in 2020 then the overwhelming majority of instances of abuse of police data result in no action at all. The other article referred to was a conviction from a year ago.
Which raises another question: what was different about this case, that it went to trial? Was it simply that this was the only case which happened within the Dyfed-Powys force? That seems unlikely if this happened nearly 800 times across the UK in 2017 (from the penultimate paragraph).
Temptation is tempting
My nephew did the same thing. He got stabbed in his stomach and then sacked. I've been on the pointy end of police abuse of their databases. Not a bleeding edge end, but nasty. I agree fully with all the previous comments. This is a nice, reassuringly rational forum.
Now there's a Novel October Surprise :-)
Now that everyone knows police systems can snoop on individuals of interest is an entertaining admission. There'll be many wanting access to the records discovered stored in files harboured there, displaying and outlining operations, abilities and capabilities.
Was he stripped of pension?
Access similar information
Without a reason at the DVLA and it's an immediate P45. Ditto if you're nicked for not having a driving licence or road tax.
They don't like staff watching porn either!
https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/local-news/dvla-porn-scandal-two-more-2245649
I thought this was SOP for police, fire service, ambulance, council etc etc
He must have forgotten to make the standard anonymous call linking the target to something he could have a legitimate interest in. Silly boy...