An anti-corruption officer who used the national database to look up family members of a woman he met on the Facebook dating app would have been sacked had he not resigned.
Detective Constable Lee Wilkinson created a fake profile on the site but revealed he had a job with the Metropolitan Police, a gross misconduct panel heard.
He texted Miss A: “Hahahah… Because I know a lot… I AM a detective… So I do research on criminals… To do a five minute profile on you was easy xx [kiss emoji].”
The victim contacted Kent Police in distress when the potential date told her he knew her address, banking provider, mortgage lender and names of relatives she hadn’t given him.
An audit by Wilkinson’s own colleagues in the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards found he had accessed information on Miss A from the police national computer and other intelligence databases between February 1 and March 14 last year.
A phone seized from Wilkinson’s desk at work had photos and WhatsApp messages sent to Miss A.
Wilkinson was found to have breached standards of professional behaviour and committed discreditable conduct to such a level he would have been dismissed without notice if still serving.
It comes just weeks after a second DPS officer PC Matthew Olive, 26, pleaded guilty to four counts of misconduct in a public office over a series of unauthorised searches for information which he shared in WhatsApp chats with a female journalist. He will be sentenced at Southwark Crown Court at a later date.
Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist said Wilkinson “clearly knew what he was doing”, adding: “I further find as a very significant aggravating factor that [he] was himself a member of DPS tasked with investigating the misconduct of other officers.
“That is a position of particular trust and responsibility.
“It is clear from the evidence before me that Miss A was understandably caused significant distress upon finding out that her private information and that of her family members had been accessed by DC Wilkinson.
“Beyond the specific harm DC Wilkinson’s actions caused Miss A, they threaten very considerable damage to the reputation of the Met and public confidence in it.
“Policing is going through a period of heightened national scrutiny, part of that scrutiny has arisen as a result of officers not treating the information to which they have access with proper respect or ensuring its security.”
Wilkinson did not attend the hearing in south London or offer any mitigation for his actions.
Anyone with information about a corrupt police officer or member of staff working for the Met who is abusing their position and power, can call the Anti-Corruption and Abuse Hotline, run by the independent charity Crimestoppers, on 0800 085 0000 or complete the online form at www.crimestoppers-org.uk.
