Yorkshire police staff disciplined for misuse of force computers

DOZENS of Yorkshire police staff have been disciplined for abusing official computer systems, and three lost their jobs, new figures have revealed.

Statistics released by police show that in South Yorkshire a total of 53 members of staff, including officers and civilians, have been disciplined for misusing computers at work in the last five years.

The figures were far lower in West and North Yorkshire, where a total of 28 police officers were disciplined across the two forces.

Nationwide more than 400 officers and police support staff have faced internal action ranging from dismissal to verbal warnings for the inappropriate use of computers.

Some forces refused to disclose details, citing data protection rules.

The figures show that, in South Yorkshire, two civilian police workers and a constable were forced to leave after accessing “police systems to obtain police information without a legitimate policing purpose”.

Police hold sensitive information on computer and have strict protocols about when it can be viewed and how the information is then used.

One sergeant was warned three times for inappropriately using e-mails and a constable was reprimanded for forwarding restricted documents to an unauthorised e-mail address.

Another constable was given a warning for downloading “non police-related information” from the Internet and one officer was reprimanded for posting an “unauthorised video on a commercial Internet website”.

One Pc was disciplined for keeping “inappropriate material on the computer system” and two investigations are still ongoing into a constable and an inspector who are accused of sending inappropriate e-mails.

An investigation is also still ongoing into the case of a member of staff who is accused of using “potentially threatening or bullying language” to someone on a social networking site.

A spokesman for South Yorkshire Police said yesterday: “We believe we have some of the toughest standards and comprehensive IT policies.

“We suspect other forces have comparable levels of misbehaviour and we are pleased we maintain high standards, through regular system checks and rigorous scrutiny of our computer systems.

“Given the large number of police staff who access computer systems every single day, nationally, the number of misuse cases are in fact very low.

“Organisations should examine their own standards if they believe they are better than the police service.”

in West Yorkshire, 26 officers have been disciplined since 2005 for “excessively” visiting websites not related to work. All of these were given either verbal or written warnings.

Of those disciplined, one was an inspector and three were sergeants.

A spokesman for West Yorkshire Police said: “There is a specific policy in relation to the usage of the Internet by West Yorkshire Police staff, indicating that the Internet can only be used for work purposes. Usage of the Internet is regularly audited.

“Different access levels are allocated to staff members in accordance with role requirements. This is closely policed and is authorised by a senior member of staff.

“Any breach of the policy is investigated and appropriate sanctions are given.”

Just two members of staff at North Yorkshire Police, meanwhile, have been disciplined for excessive Internet use. Both of these were sergeants and received warnings.

Figures were not available from Humberside Police.