Restraining order for prolific offender who threatened to post police officer's address on prisoners' Facebook

Hull Magistrates heard while Christopher Sirrs was serving a sentence at Doncaster Prison he raised his frustrations about a female detective constable with a probation officer.

Prosecutor Kellie Sandilands told the court on April 24 2019 Sirrs, 48, made threats to the probation officer saying he knew where she lived and what vehicle she drove and would put the details on the prisoners’ Facebook page.

On May 30 2019 he “stated that he would put (the officer’s name) on Facebook and the probation officer reported this to police.”

Ms Sandilands said safeguarding was put in place but the officer “was worried while she was at work that something could happen to her family and left her somewhat vulnerable while driving.”

Sirrs, of Tanfield Grove, Bilton Grange, has 24 convictions, including for harassment and a drug offence in 2018 for which he’d received a 26-week jail term.

Sunny Dhinsa, mitigating, said the threat had never been acted on and Sirrs was “accepting of wrongdoing” and that he should never have made the “flippant” comments.

Sirrs had thought there was a "conflict of interest" because the investigating officer in his case, was also investigating officer in another case involving an ex-partner.

Sirrs, who earlier pleaded guilty to putting a person in fear of violence by harassment, also failed to attend a telephone appointment with his probation supervisor in September 2020.

Magistrates gave Sirrs a suspended 12-week jail sentence, and he has to pay fines, court costs and a victim’s surcharge totalling £260.

A restraining order was put in place for two years for Sirrs not to contact the police officer directly or indirectly.