Two camera operators, Samantha Halden-Evans and Jonathan Hill, have been sentenced to jail for deleting footage capturing their friends speeding.
Halden-Evans, involved romantically with one of the implicated individuals, went further by disclosing information on operational speed cameras and engaging in various data breaches, including one related to a murder investigation.
She faced conspiracy charges to commit misconduct in public office and conspired to pervert the course of justice. Hill, admitting wrongdoing in public office in January 2023, received an 18-month prison sentence.
The conspiracy unravelled after a 2020 burglary in Cheshire, where detectives found incriminating messages on a mobile phone traced back to Halden-Evans. Evidence revealed her unauthorized deletion of offence details to shield acquaintances, often connected to herself or Hill, from speeding penalties.
Halden-Evans accessed and disclosed police computer system data without authorization from August 2017 to February 2021. Hill, arrested in April 2021, had solicited Halden-Evans to check number plates for speeding violations at specific locations.
Halden-Evans resigned from Staffordshire Police in August 2021 before a disciplinary hearing, while Hill was dismissed in December 2021. The charges resulted from an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC)-directed investigation by Staffordshire Police’s Anti-Corruption Unit.
Steve Noonan, IOPC Director of Operations, remarked, “The offences committed by these individuals amounted to severe corruption, betraying the public’s trust and undermining confidence in policing.” Staffordshire Commissioner for Police, Fire & Rescue, and Crime Ben Adams, Co-Chair of the Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership, emphasized the importance of maintaining public confidence in all police activities, stating, “Everyone within the organization should be held to the very highest standards.”
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