A West Midlands Police officer who accessed confidential systems 16 times over three years to obtain information for himself and relatives would have been dismissed if he had not resigned, a misconduct hearing has found.
Officer's repeated breaches
PC Rogers searched police systems between January 28, 2022, and May 24, 2025, to get updates on cases involving himself, relatives, and people he knew. The panel found that he 'abused his position' by providing a 'preferential service' to family members who were victims of crime.
Rogers breached standards of professional behaviour, with the panel determining his actions amounted to gross misconduct. He 'failed to treat sensitive policing information with respect' and did not access the data 'for policing purposes in the proper course of his duties'. His conduct was described as 'intentional and deliberate and repeated'.
Details of the searches
The panel heard that Rogers searched his own name and number to view crime reports, including one he had made himself. He also made a 'targeted search' for a suspect's name in a crime report relating to an assault where he was the victim. On another occasion, he accessed a log of an incident at his previous home address involving a person known to him outside his role as a police officer.
Rogers also looked at a log he had created the previous day while off duty, and searched his name to access a log relating to a report made by someone he knew. He accessed a log relating to an accident where the witness was someone he knew.
Panel findings
Panel chair Julia Debenham said: 'I find that, at all times, the officer was acting outside of the course of his proper duties and was acting in pursuing personal matters.' She added that Rogers had received training in data protection and management of police information, with the most recent training in 2020. 'When accessing systems, the warning and advice around policing purposes is clear and it is clearly referenced that this does not include looking up information for friends and family.'
Debenham concluded: 'On the balance of probabilities, I find that the officer's explanation that he believed he was entitled to search systems for the purposes that he did lacks credibility.'
Resignation and outcome
Rogers resigned from the force in September 2025 and was not present at the hearing. The accelerated misconduct hearing in May 2024 found he would have been dismissed if still serving. The panel found breaches of honesty and integrity, confidentiality, and discreditable conduct.
Rogers claimed a colleague told him in February 2024 that he should not be accessing the systems and that he then stopped. However, the report stated: 'In fact he did not stop entirely and accessed an incident on May 24, 2025, in order to provide information to his mother.'
Debenham noted: 'He accessed confidential information without a policing purpose. He did this on a number of times over a period of years. He accessed systems for a personal purpose which was to update himself on matters relating to him or to provide information to family members. None of this has a valid policing purpose and the officer would have been aware that this was the case.'
She added that there were no mitigating factors: 'I do not find that searching to support family members who were victims of crime amounts to mitigation.'
