Ex-detective would have been sacked over IT misuse

The hearing heard at least 10 inappropriate searches were made on the force's systems

A former police officer who inappropriately accessed computer systems would have been sacked if he had not quit.

Former Det Con Matthew Adam, who worked for Thames Valley Police (TVP), did at least 10 searches on people known to him without any policing purpose between March and November 2023.

A hearing heard Mr Adam, who was based in Witney, Oxfordshire, also asked a former colleague to check the systems for him.

Chief Constable Jason Hogg said Mr Adam would have been sacked had he not resigned in February.

Mr Adam joined TVP in June 2020.

Robert Watson, Mr Adam’s Police Federation representative, read out a statement on his behalf.

In it, he said he meant “no ill-intent” when undertaking the searches and that he was sorry for letting down the force and his former colleagues.

He said he held them “in the highest regard”.

Despite Mr Adam’s apology, Mr Hogg said his “very serious” actions amounted to gross misconduct.

That he would have been sacked had he not resigned showed that “improper behaviour will not be tolerated”, Mr Hogg added.

Mr Adam, who did not attend the accelerated misconduct hearing, will be placed on the College of Policing’s barred list.

Mick Taylor, on behalf of TVP's professional standards department, said officers considered if Mr Adam's conduct was criminal but no charges were brought.