Police IT worker fined for misuse of data

An
IT employee working for Gwent Police has been fined £400 for using control room
computers to investigate people she knew, in breach of the UK’s Data Protection
Act (DPA), according to The Western Mail newspaper.

Leanne
Thomas was suspended after, in what was described as "foolishness and
boredom", she looked up the police records on four of her friends.

Under
the DPA it is an offence to obtain personal data on an individual without the
consent of the person in charge of the database on which the information is
contained.

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Thomas,
who is facing disciplinary action at the Cwmbran police control room, was fined
£100 by magistrates for each of the four offences, and ordered to pay £50 in
costs.

By Daniel Thomas