A computer operator 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, according to a report by
The Western Mail.
Under the Act of 1998 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.
So when Leanne Thomas, 25, in what was described as "foolishness
and boredom", looked up the police records on four of her friends,
she was breaking the law.
She has since been suspended from her job as a computer operator
in the Cwmbran police control room, and disciplinary proceedings
are ongoing, reports The Western Mail.
She was fined £100 by magistrates for each of the four offences,
and ordered to pay £50 in costs.
