A former Suffolk police constable has been found guilty of gross misconduct for accessing parts of the police system without good reason.

Ex-PC Adam Long was given a final written warning in January 2022  after sending inappropriate text messages to a vulnerable woman. 

During a two-day hearing at the start of March, a misconduct hearing convened to determine if the officer accessed and viewed police systems without any lawful policing purpose.

Between April 11 2022 and July 9 2022 the former officer accessed and reviewed the systems in relation to a member of the public known in the report as person A, as well as others in their life. 

The panel found the former officer was unable to recall why he specifically conducted searches in the system relating to person A and their associates. 

The panel found on balance the rationale for accessing the system was "to ascertain information relevant to Person A", in addition to find out they were in a relationship, and other associates.

A report said: "Former PC Long maintains that when he accessed Athena he believed that he had a genuine policing purpose. However, upon reflection his belief was mistaken."

Following the hearing, he was found to be in gross misconduct having breached the standards in respect of integrity, confidentiality and discreditable conduct. 

Had Long still been serving at the time of the data protection breach, he would have been dismissed without notice.

Long did not attend the hearing but was represented. 

A spokesperson for Suffolk Constabulary said: “Breaches of the Data Protection Act are taken extremely seriously and all officers and staff are aware of the role they have to play in ensuring data is accessed appropriately.

“We have robust systems in place to audit this and undertake both random and targeted monitoring of access to information, providing both a deterrent and detection function.

“This case demonstrates how if people are found misusing the privileged access they have to information, they will be subject to disciplinary action and dealt with appropriately and proportionately.”