Officer banned from police work after unlawful checks
The officer had resigned before the hearing took place
- Published
A former inspector has been banned from working for the police after asking colleagues to complete unlawful searches.
Tracy Smurthwaite directed junior staff at Cleveland Police to look through ANPR systems after a person she had a personal connection with went missing.
A Gross Misconduct Hearing found she would have been dismissed with immediate effect if she had not previously resigned.
It comes after Ms Smurthwaite was found guilty of breaching the Data Protection Act at Newcastle Crown Court in July.
She was told to pay £700 fine, £500 prosecution costs and victim surcharge of £70, following the trial.
Ms Smurthwaite, formerly known as Houldey, was the temporary Police Inspector undertaking the role of Force Incident Manager (FIM) in the control room when she committed the offence on 29 October 2021.
Cleveland Police was investigating concerns for the welfare of a person, who was reported missing from home.
They were located and safeguarded by officers soon after.
However, Ms Smurthwaite, who had a personal connection to the person in question, directed junior staff to conduct searches on the ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) system, despite the individual being safeguarded.
The search allowed Ms Smurthwaite to obtain information on the individual's movements over the course of that evening, Cleveland Police said.
Suspended vetting
Det Ch Insp John Bonner, Head of the Counter Corruption Unit at Cleveland Police, said: "Colleagues were aware that checks of this nature were not for a lawful policing purpose and reported the concerns.
"Ms Smurthwaite was subject of a criminal and gross misconduct investigation by the Force’s Counter Corruption Unit.
"During the investigation the officer’s temporary promotion was removed, she was placed on restricted duties, removing her from operational duties, and had no access to operational police systems."
After being convicted, Ms Smurthwaite's vetting was suspended and she resigned from Cleveland Police before the misconduct hearing on Wednesday.
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