Ex-PC sentenced over searches on police computer

Simon Barker had already been barred from policing due to a separate matter

A former North Yorkshire police officer who was kicked out of the profession for filming himself performing a solo sex act while in uniform has been found guilty of accessing computer data without authorisation.

Simon Barker, 36, was barred from policing in December 2024 after he was found to have committed gross misconduct.

A further investigation revealed Barker, of Kirkwood Way, Leeds, had also made numerous searches for individuals he knew or had links to on the internal computer system.

After admitting gaining unauthorised access to the data he was sentenced at Leeds Magistrates' Court to four months in prison, suspended for 12 months.

Barker, who had worked on a rural crime task force in the Selby area, was employed by North Yorkshire Police between 2018 and 2024.

He resigned on 9 December, the day before he was found to have committed gross misconduct for sending a video of himself performing a solo sex act in uniform to a woman on WhatsApp in February 2022.

He was barred from policing and, had he not already resigned, he would have been dismissed as a result.

Barker was then arrested and charged with gaining unauthorised access to data, an offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990, following an investigation into his conduct as a police officer.

After the case, Deputy Chief Constable Scott Bisset said: "North Yorkshire Police are very clear on the standards expected of all officers and staff with access to police information, and we have rigorous systems in place to audit this access.

"Members of the public rightly expect the police to treat the sensitive information we hold with the utmost care and integrity.

"The vast majority of our officers and staff do so with the highest levels of professionalism. Barker, however, abused the trust placed in him, and now has a criminal record as a result."

The defendant was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and pay a £154 surcharge, and £85 costs.

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