PC who passed on traffic accident information is jailed

A former police officer who passed on confidential information about arrests and road accidents has been jailed.

Matthew Bell was an operations officer with Northamptonshire Police.

The 38-year-old, from London End in Irchester, Northamptonshire, found the details on the police computer and passed them on to friends and family.

He admitted the charge of misconduct in public office and was sentenced to nine months in prison at Southwark Crown Court on Friday.

Police said people who misused information had “no place in this profession.”

Northamptonshire Police said PC Bell shared details of incidents between September 2019 and June 2022 that were not available to the general public.

An expedited misconduct hearing was already held on Thursday, chaired by Lincolnshire Police Chief Constable Paul Gibson.

He decided that if he had still been on duty he would have been fired.

Ch Insp Adam Pendlebury, of Northamptonshire Police’s professional standards department, said: “This information should be treated confidentially and only accessed where there is a legitimate police purpose to do so.”

“Anyone who abuses it or shares it with family and friends has no place in our profession.”

“PC Bell’s offenses occurred over a long period of time, demonstrating a lack of integrity and undermining public trust in policing.”

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