Detective fired for police records breach

A detective has been dismissed for gross misconduct after he admitted accessing police records about himself and members of his family over a 10-year period.

A misconduct hearing found that Thomas Lauder, a trainee detective constable, breached police regulations without a "valid policing purpose".

The West Mercia force said he improperly accessed systems between March 2012 and October 2022.

The 42-year-old told the two-day hearing at force headquarters he "got things wrong" but "not in a malicious or deceitful way".

Lauder was based at Malinsgate Police Station in Telford when the behaviour was discovered.

The hearing was told officers were not allowed to access details of themselves or family members and if they did, they should notify their superior.

Proceedings heard of one breach that saw him access information about himself after he had been the victim of an attack that left him with injuries and restricted to office tasks.

He came across the name of the person who had attacked him, and used the information to warn officers attending the individual's home they were facing a violent offender.

The hearing was told another episode saw him directly receive via email doorbell video footage from a family member when it should have gone to officers investigating a burglary.

Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Jones said: "Lauder abused his power as a police officer, which has a negative impact on the trust the public have in police, and therefore undermines the hard work and dedication of our officers.

"Officers like Lauder have no place in our force and our commitment to removing them will continue."

He will now be added to the College of Policing's Barred List, banning him from working for a UK police service in the future.

The outcome of the hearing is subject to the normal appeals process.

Follow BBC Shropshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.