Detective jailed for £1,000 plot to blackmail prostitute’s client

A DEtECtIVE constable has been jailed and fired after trying to blackmail a man out of £1,000 for using a prostitute.

Bedfordshire Police officer Gareth Suffling, 35, wrote a letter to his victim demanding cash, threatening that the man’s family, friends and work colleagues would be told about his activities if he refused to pay up.

St Albans Crown Court heard that Suffling had used the Police National Computer to identify the owner of a vehicle after watching the man visit a prostitute in Luton, Bedfordshire, on March 17. the blackmail threat was packaged up with photographs of him leaving a motorhome used as a brothel by the prostitute.

However, the victim contacted police after receiving the cash demand and an investigation was launched by the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Major Crime Unit on March 24.

It was quickly discovered that Suffling, from Barton-le-Clay in Bedfordshire, had used the Police National Computer to carry out the registered owner’s check on the man, while further investigations revealed the officer had been in contact with the prostitute on March 16 to find out where her brothel would be parked that day.

CCtV also put Suffling’s vehicle near the victim’s home when the demand letter was delivered, and he was arrested by colleagues the following day.

On Monday he was jailed for a total of 18 months after pleading guilty to blackmail and misconduct in a public office. He had been dismissed from Bedfordshire Police for gross misconduct following a special case hearing last month.

After the sentencing, Bedfordshire Police Assistant Chief Constable Mike Colbourne said: ‘this was a premeditated attempt by a serving officer to extort money from a member of the public and is totally unacceptable. Our swift actions show how seriously we took the blackmail threat and ultimately Suffling’s actions, which have no place in policing.

‘ We work hard to build trust and confidence in our communities, but that is undermined by such selfish actions by an individual. We will not tolerate such behaviour and this sentence should send a clear message as to how seriously we take such matters.’