Do people who work in the police...

[AskingInInterest]

... look up there children's mates/mates' parents to check out any past convictions, etc?
Asking for a friend (really!)...

*their, not there. The shame...

No. That would get them sacked.

They’re not allowed to without legitimate cause.

THAT is a sackable offence and criminal

No. Even looking up yourself is a breach of policy.

No but if they are local and ‘known’ DH would know about it anyway. He wouldn’t look up criminal histories, it’s not allowed, but I know he knows things about people through his job. (He doesn’t tell me).

And all police IT has keystroke monitoring, so you would get caught 100%.

You just don’t.

As above. My police office husband is the victim of a crime and the perpetrator is being convicted - he can't even look this case up. Very strict.

Wow, that's interesting. Didn't realise it would be tracked like that.

Thanks all. Good to know (for my friend!)

My ex did.

He also got sacked.

I still can't write that without smiling.

As above. It's a no.
Also a no for NHS workers. There has been a recent case where someone working for the NHS looked up people she know and had to pay big fines

We had a detective Sargent as a neighbour. He used to come home in an ‘old banger’ that was full of high tech listening gear. He used to sit in the car in his garage listening. The general consensus was he heard some unpleasant stuff and shared some of it as some neighbours stopped speaking to others and a few families moved soon after.

He is now a Chief Inspector. He’s also dropped some right clangers (high profile, hit headlines and news) in his career but it never stopped his progress.

He’s retired now on a big fat pension and working in second career.

In my experience how the are supposed to behave and how they actually behave is polar opposite.

I myself have worked in local government. People do make unauthorised checks. They only get caught if the case gets audited. A risk, but people still did it.

I hasten to add I never did!

@koomoo - how on earth do you know his car was full of ‘high tech listening gear’ - give us an example. Have friends who worked covert and you do NOT take work home as it would kind of blow your cover.

What were the clangers? You’ve said it’s in the public domain so you could send a link?

If it went in the news (and was true) I doubt he’s on his ‘big, fat pension’ (that he paid into for 30 years).

n my experience how the are supposed to behave and how they actually behave is polar opposite.

I’m generally very difficult to offend but this statement makes my blood boil! How bloody dare you tar anyone with this brush!

As for the original question, I work with police intel systems, pnc etc, and it’s kind of like working on a toll in a shop, yes you have all that money at your fingertips, but you just don’t see it as cash.
My job and integrity are worth a lot more than idle curiosity, and I don’t fancy going to prison!

My ex is a copper and someone he worked with was sacked for looking something up on the police database.
They all have individual log ins and everything they search for is logged and checked.

My ex is a copper and was of the naughty variety (he got caught with escorts he met through work - IPCC declared he could keep his job as an officer was entitled to a private life, so you can imagine what the daily mail made of it)

That context given - he would never look anyone up on the computer as it was so easily traceable. There were ways of finding stuff out - he could look over the arrest logs, and obviously they talk amongst themselves - but nothing that could be tracked!

I thought that when you join the police your family and close friends are checked to make sure there’s no inside work trying to happen, so they’d probably know anyway surely?

No!

NHS staff also don’t. I’m amazed at the amount out people who think I have time or the inclination to look and see how Susan’s getting on with her thrush

I’d disagree about the NHS one, my mil is awful and I hate it. She gets around it by asking colleagues in the same office to look under their login so the link isn’t there.

Police systems demand an auditible reason for the search, and the search cannot happen without that box being completed. It’s very easy to see who is sniffing where they shouldn’t.

@GeorgieTheGorgeousGoat

Your MILs colleagues are just as guilty as her.

Still dying to hear about the ‘high tech listening gear’

Yes I agree, it’s difficult to raise it without causing ww3. She thinks she’s being helpful!

How is the neighbour a chief inspector and retired?

@georgie, all you have to do is say to information governance that someone has looked at your file.

They’ll do an anonymous audit and haul her colleagues up. Sure they’ll grass her up when they realise their jobs on the line