Camera operators who deleted records of speeding offences are 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 by anti-corruption officers while working for Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership. A court heard the pair failed to process data and deleted information so that drivers would avoid speeding penalties.

Halden-Evans, from Cheadle, Staffordshire, also passed on details about whether certain speed cameras[1] were working and committed other data breaches – one in relation to a murder investigation. She was charged with conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office and conspiring to pervert the course of justice. 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 in January 2023. 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 while Nikki Baker, 35, from Werrington, Staffs, was sentenced to 10 months.

Conspiracy

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.

She was arrested in February 2021 and a mobile phone was seized from her. Evidence was found that Halden-Evans had been deleting offence details so that people, 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 was arrested in April 2021 and it was found he 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[2] in August 2021 prior to a disciplinary hearing and Hill was dismissed from the force following a hearing in December 2021. The charges came following an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation carried out by Staffordshire Police’s Anti-Corruption Unit.

Serious corruption

Steve Noonan, IOPC director of operations, said: “The offences committed by these two individuals amounted to very serious corruption.

“In addition to the deletion of speeding offences, evidence showed that Hill was asking Halden-Evans to check whether people had been caught by cameras speeding on certain roads. “She was also passing on details about whether speed cameras in Staffordshire were active or not, and there were other data breaches including one relating to a murder investigation. “Such behaviour is a betrayal of the public’s trust and undermines confidence in policing.

“This investigation is testament to how seriously the IOPC, law enforcement agencies and the criminal justice system takes this kind of behaviour and I am grateful to all those involved in ensuring justice was served today.” 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.”

Ben Adams, Staffordshire Commissioner for Police, Fire & Rescue and Crime, said: “It is absolutely vital that the public can have confidence in everyone engaged in police activity, and in the activity of the Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership. “Keeping our roads safe for the communities of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent is too important to be undermined by the actions of a few individuals. “Whether those individuals are officers or staff makes no difference.

Everyone within the organisation should be held to the very highest standards, and I welcome today’s outcome.”

References

1. ^ speed cameras (www.telegraph.co.uk)
2. ^ Staffordshire Police (www.telegraph.co.uk)