The Daily Telegraph - Saturday
Corrupt speed camera operators jailed
TWO camera operators who deleted records of speeding offences so their friends could get away without being fined or prosecuted have been jailed.
Samantha Halden-Evans, 36, and Jonathan Hill, 47, were investigated while working for Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership.
A court heard the pair failed to process data and deleted information so drivers would avoid speeding penalties.
Halden-Evans, from Cheadle, Staffordshire, also passed on details about whether certain speed cameras were working and committed other data breaches – one in relation to a murder investigation.
She pleaded guilty to the charges and was jailed for four years and two months at Stafford Crown Court on Thursday.
Hill, from Newcastle-under-Lyme, was jailed for 18 months after admitting misconduct in public office.
Two members of the public, one of whom was in a relationship with Halden-Evans, also admitted conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
Wayne Riley, 41, from Cheadle, was sentenced to two years and eight months. Nikki Baker, 35, from Werrington, was sentenced to ten months.
The court heard the conspiracy came to light after a burglary in Cheshire in 2020 where detectives examined a mobile phone and found messages traced back to Halden-Evans.
Evidence was found that Halden-Evans had been deleting offence details so that people, many known to herself or to Hill, would avoid speeding penalties.
She had accessed and disclosed data on police computer systems without authorisation between August 2017 and February 2021.
Hill had asked Halden-Evans to check number plates to see if the drivers had been caught speeding at specific locations.
Halden-Evans resigned from Staffordshire Police in August 2021 prior to a disciplinary hearing and Hill was dismissed from the force following a hearing in December 2021.
Steve Noonan, director of operations at the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), said the offences “amounted to very serious corruption”.
He added the investigation, directed by the IOPC, was “testament to how seriously the IOPC, law enforcement agencies and the criminal justice system takes this kind of behaviour.”
Deputy Chief Constable Jon Roy of Staffordshire Police said: “The vast majority of our officers and staff conduct themselves professionally and work tirelessly to protect the public.
“We expect the highest levels of honesty and integrity from all of our officers and staff and anyone who falls below these standards will be held to account.”