Police staff jailed for deleting speeding offences

Samantha Halden-Evans, Jonathan Hill (centre) and Wayne Riley were all jailed for their parts in the conspiracy

Two former members of police staff have been jailed after they worked together to delete speeding offences.

Samantha Halden-Evans and Jonathan Hill were both employed by the Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership.

The pair deleted information which meant drivers avoided penalties for speeding, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said.

The conspiracy came to light after a burglary when messages on a mobile phone were traced back to Halden-Evans.

Detectives found evidence she was deleting details so people, many of whom were known to her or Hill, avoided fines or prosecutions for speeding.

They also discovered Hill asked Halden-Evans to check number-plates to see if the motorists were caught speeding on certain roads.

Knowledge on whether particular speed cameras were active or not in Staffordshire was also passed on to others by Halden-Evans, the IOPC said.

She was also accused of accessing and passing on information from the police computer systems, including over a murder investigation, without authorisation.

'Very serious corruption'

Halden-Evans, 36, from Cheadle, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office and two counts of conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

She was jailed for four years and two months at Stafford Crown Court on Thursday.

Hill, 47, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, was jailed for 18 months after he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office.

Two members of the public, Wayne Riley and Nikki Baker, one of whom the IOPC said was in a relationship with Halden-Evans, both pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

Riley, 41, from Cheadle, was jailed for two years and eight months while Baker, 35, from Werrington, was sentenced to 10 months in prison.

Halden-Evans resigned from Staffordshire Police in August 2021 before a disciplinary hearing while Hill was sacked from the force after a disciplinary hearing in December of the same year.

The pair's offences amounted to "very serious corruption", Steve Noonan, from the IOPC, said.

"Such behaviour is a betrayal of the public’s trust and undermines confidence in policing," he added.

Staffordshire Police's Deputy Chief Constable, Jon Roy, said the force expected the highest levels of honesty and integrity from its staff.

"Anyone who falls below these standards will be held to account," he said.