PC ILLEGALLY SPIED ON 'ON/OFF LOVER' USING SECRET DATA

A FORMER police officer secretly monitored her lover's whereabouts by accessing confidential systems more than 260 times, a disciplinary hearing has been told.

- ANNABAL BAGDI News Reporter

PC Payne "deliberately" scoured West Midlands Police systems in a desperate bid to find out where her colleague was so she could speak to him.

She was said to be motivated by a "thirst for knowledge" concerning her "on/off partner" and repeatedly searched force logs for his name.

Payne was found to have breached standards of professional behaviour, with a panel finding that her actions amounted to gross misconduct.

She would have been dismissed had she still been a serving officer, an accelerated misconduct hearing found.

Payne carried out more than 260 searches on police systems between October 2023 and June 2024.

During an investigation into her conduct, she apologised for her actions and confirmed she made all the searches.

Payne had been in "an on/off personal relationship" with her work colleague at the time.