Norfolk Police officer sacked after viewing evidence 'out of curiosity'
PC Adam Scott has been dismissed without notice after viewing evidence in a case he had nothing to do with
A Norfolk Police officer has been sacked by the force after viewing evidence in a case he had nothing to do with.
PC Adam Scott has been dismissed without notice following a misconduct hearing, during which a panel found he had accessed a video of a serious assault 'without any lawful policing purpose'.
During the hearing PC Scott claimed to have accessed the video as he thought he recognised the victim's name.
In a summary of the evidence, the panel determined "audit records show that PC Scott had (the victim's) file open for 18 minutes which provided him, as a diligent and experienced officer, with plenty of time to familiarise himself with the contents of the documents."
"Even the briefest of reading would highlight the contents of the video evidence and would thus inform the officer that he had no proper purpose in accessing such a piece of evidence in a case in which he had no investigative connection."
PC Scott had dealt with the victim in the case in the weeks prior, although the matter was entirely unrelated.
The disciplinary hearing called his actions "a serious breach of data protection given that the officer accessed sensitive data, seemingly to satisfy his curiosity."
The hearing comes just days after a major data breach at the Norfolk force, which saw the details of victims of crime shared online.