Police Folk Allegedly Behaving Badly

[RangerRay]

Mostly people don’t care when we do good stuff and mostly it’s not noticed or remarked upon.

Like my supervisor saying “I’m not going to give you an attaboy for doing your job”.

 

[daftandbarmy]

But just in the UK, right? Right?


Police 100 Times More Likely Than Average Person to Be Convicted of Cybercrime

‘They just don't believe they’re going to get caught.’

Police officers and police staff are 100 times more likely to be found guilty of a cybercrime than the average person, Novara Media can reveal.

In 2024, officers and staff who had misused police databases made up 42% of all cybercrime convictions, despite being only 0.4% of the UK population.

A spate of police offences were prosecuted in the first half of the year; between January and June, police officers and staff made up an astounding 53% of all cybercrime convictions.

This is according to an analysis by Novara Media of the Cambridge Computer Crime Database (CCCD), which has been tracking cybercrimes where the offender or alleged offender has been arrested, charged and/or prosecuted in the UK since January 2010.

Most police cases involve officers and staff illegally obtaining sensitive information stored on official computer systems.

Entries into the CCCD, detailed by Cambridge Cybercrime Centre director Alice Hutchings, include a corrupt police intelligence analyst who tipped off a drug dealer that an encrypted messaging network used by criminals had been infiltrated by law enforcement, disrupting countless active international police investigations.

In another case, the girlfriend of a gang member got a job with the police and started a relationship with a colleague, who she then enlisted to help steal data that identified witnesses who had testified against her imprisoned partner.

Police 100 Times More Likely Than Average Person to Be Convicted of Cybercrime

Exclusive: 42% of all cybercriminals convicted in 2024 were police officers or police staff, Novara Media can reveal.

novaramedia.com

 

[dapaterson]

Or perhaps government data systems have better access control logs, making it easier to prosecute misconduct.

 

[brihard]

Or perhaps government data systems have better access control logs, making it easier to prosecute misconduct.

Yup. The comparison in the original article is absurd. A cop abusing their CPIC access and someone launching ransomware attacks through a botnet or a zero-day exploit are two very different things. The vast majority of cyber crime is not investigated or solved; there aren’t resources to do it with. But a cop or other government official who misuses databases is easily traced in their access and use of various systems. I’ve got personal experience in this sort of investigation a few times over… There’s often pretty comprehensive user access logging.

 

[dapaterson]

The upcoming Professional Standards investigation should be interesting...

An Ontario Provincial Police officer accused of breaking into her ex-boyfriend’s home while on duty three years ago has made a deal to have her criminal charges withdrawn.

Amanda Farrell, who turns 41 next week, was accused of assault, forcible confinement, criminal harassment, mischief to property, and breaking into the home uninvited, has entered into a peace bond to resolve her criminal charges in a virtual courtroom.

On-duty OPP officer accused of break-and-enter at ex-boyfriend’s home signs peace bond, charges dropped

An Ontario Provincial Police officer accused of breaking into her ex-boyfriend’s home while on duty three years ago has made a deal to have her criminal charges withdrawn.

www.ctvnews.ca

 

[Jarnhamar]

The upcoming Professional Standards investigation should be interesting...

On-duty OPP officer accused of break-and-enter at ex-boyfriend’s home signs peace bond, charges dropped

An Ontario Provincial Police officer accused of breaking into her ex-boyfriend’s home while on duty three years ago has made a deal to have her criminal charges withdrawn.

www.ctvnews.ca

Armed police officer breaking into a citizens house and terrorizing them for 15 minutes gets a conditional sentence, no jail, and no criminal record. Always nice to see justice done.

Reading this story I was worried she wouldn't be on some kind of paid leave.

 

[Haggis]

Yup. The comparison in the original article is absurd. A cop abusing their CPIC access and someone launching ransomware attacks through a botnet or a zero-day exploit are two very different things. The vast majority of cyber crime is not investigated or solved; there aren’t resources to do it with. But a cop or other government official who misuses databases is easily traced in their access and use of various systems. I’ve got personal experience in this sort of investigation a few times over… There’s often pretty comprehensive user access logging.

You'd better have good notes to substantiate your access.

 

[brihard]

You'd better have good notes to substantiate your access.

We routinely do all kinds of queries in rapid succession when working an investigation, or following up a file to see if someone is involved in anything new that’s relevant, or if a matter’s gone through court yet or what have you… I doubt anyone’s taking notes on even most of their queries, never mind all of them. Most will be pretty easy to say why from memory or just by looking at what we were working on on a given day.

Actual cases of abuse of databases tend to not be hard to demonstrate.

 

[Haggis]

We routinely do all kinds of queries in rapid succession when working an investigation, or following up a file to see if someone is involved in anything new that’s relevant, or if a matter’s gone through court yet or what have you… I doubt anyone’s taking notes on even most of their queries, never mind all of them. Most will be pretty easy to say why from memory or just by looking at what we were working on on a given day.

Actual cases of abuse of databases tend to not be hard to demonstrate.

Crap! I know that. And we query folks and vehicles all day long for customs and immigration purposes.

My phone dropped the second line of my post, which should've read: "You'd better have good notes to substantiate your access. Especially if you're up to shady stuff, like finding the phone number of a pretty motorist so you can ask her out on a date."

 

[Jarnhamar]

Looks like Ottawa police responded to a pretty bad vehicle accident a few days ago at 1130pm. Open window, no driver in the car - cleared the scene.

Police went back the next day and found the drivers body a short distance away in the snow

 

[Booter]

We routinely do all kinds of queries in rapid succession when working an investigation, or following up a file to see if someone is involved in anything new that’s relevant, or if a matter’s gone through court yet or what have you… I doubt anyone’s taking notes on even most of their queries, never mind all of them. Most will be pretty easy to say why from memory or just by looking at what we were working on on a given day.

Actual cases of abuse of databases tend to not be hard to demonstrate.

it’s a very common conduct issue presently (so hot right now) but it’s not cybercrime. That article groups things in a very strange way.

 

[dapaterson]

Why is it always the Durham police service?

Lawyer alleges Durham Region police violently assaulted her, dragged her to cells in Oshawa courthouse

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/lawyer-claims-drps-assaulted-her-in-oshawa-courthouse-9.7063334

 

[daftandbarmy]

Well, it was only one

Ontario police officer arrested after personal gun fired inside home, bullet enters neighbour’s house

A police officer in Peterborough, Ont., is facing a weapons charge after their personal firearm was discharged inside a home on New Year’s Eve.

The Peterborough Police Service says around 6:40 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2025, an off-duty officer self-reported that a firearm had been discharged inside their west-end home in the area of Ireland Drive and Ravenwood Drive.

Shortly after, police received a 911 call from a neighbouring homeowner who returned home to discover a bullet-hole in their bedroom.

Ontario police officer arrested after personal gun fired inside home, bullet enters neighbour’s house | Globalnews.ca

Police say that on Dec. 31 an off-duty officer's personal gun was discharged inside their home and a bullet entered a neighbouring west-end home. The officer was charged on Jan. 7.

globalnews.ca

 

[mariomike]

Looks like Ottawa police responded to a pretty bad vehicle accident a few days ago at 1130pm. Open window, no driver in the car - cleared the scene.

Police went back the next day and found the drivers body a short distance away in the snow

Many people carry electronic devices now, so it's easier to track them than it used to be.

The Yonge Boulevard Viaduct are four separate highway bridges over the Don River Valley. They carry 14 lanes of the 401.

Wasn't all that uncommon for people getting out of their cars at accident scenes to get knocked Into the Valley.

The "Baby On Board" signs mean you have taken an extra look. Even though the baby might be in high school already.

 

[Haggis]

Well, it was only one

Ontario police officer arrested after personal gun fired inside home, bullet enters neighbour’s house

A police officer in Peterborough, Ont., is facing a weapons charge after their personal firearm was discharged inside a home on New Year’s Eve.

The Peterborough Police Service says around 6:40 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2025, an off-duty officer self-reported that a firearm had been discharged inside their west-end home in the area of Ireland Drive and Ravenwood Drive.

Shortly after, police received a 911 call from a neighbouring homeowner who returned home to discover a bullet-hole in their bedroom.

Ontario police officer arrested after personal gun fired inside home, bullet enters neighbour’s house | Globalnews.ca

Police say that on Dec. 31 an off-duty officer's personal gun was discharged inside their home and a bullet entered a neighbouring west-end home. The officer was charged on Jan. 7.

globalnews.ca

If the officer bought it recently and it was able to punch through two exterior walls, it was likely not a handgun.

 

[brihard]

Well, it was only one

Ontario police officer arrested after personal gun fired inside home, bullet enters neighbour’s house

A police officer in Peterborough, Ont., is facing a weapons charge after their personal firearm was discharged inside a home on New Year’s Eve.

The Peterborough Police Service says around 6:40 p.m. on Dec. 31, 2025, an off-duty officer self-reported that a firearm had been discharged inside their west-end home in the area of Ireland Drive and Ravenwood Drive.

Shortly after, police received a 911 call from a neighbouring homeowner who returned home to discover a bullet-hole in their bedroom.

Ontario police officer arrested after personal gun fired inside home, bullet enters neighbour’s house | Globalnews.ca

Police say that on Dec. 31 an off-duty officer's personal gun was discharged inside their home and a bullet entered a neighbouring west-end home. The officer was charged on Jan. 7.

globalnews.ca

The fact that he called it in himself before anyone else is the single biggest thing that will save at least a portion of his ass.