Police officer dismissed for sharing force secrets

PC Rachael Hughes told members of the public restricted information and police tactics, a hearing found

A police officer has been banned from policing after she shared confidential information with members of the public and informants.

Leicestershire officer Rachael Hughes sent multiple messages containing protected details over several months in 2021, a misconduct panel heard.

She revealed a child's autism diagnosis, social services involvement with a family, and previous police involvement with residents to an informant, the panel found.

The force ruled her actions amounted to gross misconduct, and she was dismissed without notice.

Shared 'police tactics'

Det Supt Alison Tompkins, head of the force's professional standards department, said: "A police officer is entrusted by the force and the public to be responsible for and to be respectful of confidential and sensitive information. Training is provided to all officers and staff in force in relation to this.

"PC Hughes breached this trust, which falls below the standards of professional behaviour expected and undermines public confidence in our force. The panel was therefore left with no other choice but to reach the outcome of dismissal without notice."

Ms Hughes had shared "police tactics and operational decisions", the registration number of an unmarked police car to the same person, and emailed them photos held on the police systems, the force said.

She told the misconduct hearing she had not thought her communications were "inappropriate" and believed she had "policing purpose" in sharing what she did, the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

But the hearing panel also ruled Ms Hughes had asked an informant not to tell other members of the force about photographs in a message she later claimed was just a "joke".

She also told a second informant a member of the public had been released on licence until 2021, so if he "gets into any trouble he will go back to prison".

And another member of the public was told that someone's provisional driving licence had been revoked, the hearing ruled.

The panel said Ms Hughes's dishonesty could have also "impacted on the evidence" had the investigation gone to court.

It found her actions were a "significant departure from the high standards expected of police officers" and there was a potential for a "high level" of reputational harm to the force.