Former West Midlands Police officer Katie Bowie repeatedly accessed 'highly confidential' information on police systems over a two-year period, searching for details about people she knew without any legitimate policing purpose. A misconduct hearing in August was told that Bowie, who would have been dismissed had she still been serving, breached standards of professional behaviour, with her actions amounting to gross misconduct.
Unauthorised searches over two years
The panel heard that Bowie conducted various searches between December 27, 2022, and December 11, 2024. She accessed names, addresses, mugshots and incidents linked to individuals, even though she was 'not entitled to do so'. On one occasion, she made a 'targeted search', accessing addresses and further incidents related to an unidentified person. On another, she used 'varying spellings' of a woman's name while searching one police system.
Bowie also used a 'specific investigation report reference' twice before viewing custody images and contact information of individuals connected to her search. The searches all related to persons connected to her, and she accessed the information for personal reasons, without the knowledge of those she snooped on.
No legitimate policing purpose
Panel chair Julia Debenham stated in her report: "In her Regulation 18 response, the former officer states that she believed she had a lawful policing purpose for accessing these systems or that she could not remember specific searches. The searches all related to persons connected to her. She accessed information that was confidential. Had the officer had concerns relating to any individuals, she would have known to report this in a different way, rather than access the system herself. I am satisfied that these searches had no legitimate policing purpose."
The report also noted that Bowie 'abused her power as a police officer on a number of occasions by accessing information when she had no right to do so'. Her actions were described as 'deliberate and intentional', but there was no evidence that she shared the data with others.
Breach of standards and impact
The former officer was found to have breached standards of professional behaviour relating to honesty and integrity, confidentiality, and discreditable conduct. The panel concluded that the information she accessed was not available to the general public and contained highly confidential personal information.
Bowie did not attend the hearing and was not represented. West Midlands Police redacted from its report what Bowie searched for and who it related to. The accelerated misconduct hearing determined that she would have been dismissed if she were still with the force.
