Steven Morris provides another update to a breach previously covered on this blog:
A police force faces a fine from the information commissioner and compensation claims from thousands of motorists after an officer stole accident victims’ details from a police computer and sold them on to personal injury solicitors.
Sugra Hanif, a constable with Thames Valley police, was jailed for three and a half years on Wednesday for conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office. She and her co-conspirator, Raza Khan, who was jailed for three years, earned up to £800 for each referral.
Winchester crown court was told the force could be fined up to £500,000 by the information commissioner for what was described as an unprecedented breach, and that as many as 5,000 people could seek compensation.
Read more on The Guardian.
Was this Judge Andrew Barnett’s way of inviting the ICO to impose a heavy fine on the police department, or was he just using the possible fine as a way to stress the seriousness of the defendant’s conduct?