A former Cambridgeshire Police sergeant has been jailed for four years after being convicted of misconduct in public office, including seeking access to a sexually explicit video recovered from a female suspect’s phone.
Paul Street, 41, formerly of Huntingdon, was found guilty of two counts of misconduct in public office following a trial at the Old Bailey. He had previously pleaded guilty to two offences under the Data Protection Act 2018.
Street had been leading a team tasked with tackling county lines drug dealing and organised Crime.
Jurors heard he encouraged a toxic culture within a police WhatsApp group, where abusive messages were shared and inflammatory language was used.
In a separate incident involving a 17-year-old detainee in April 2020, Street made derogatory comments following the teenager’s arrest and strip search. He also recorded a video threatening to damage the teenager’s family home.
Explicit material taken from suspect’s phone
In October 2020, a woman was arrested and her mobile phone examined by PC Josh Williams, 38, also of Cambridgeshire Constabulary.
After learning the phone had been downloaded, Street asked whether it contained explicit images. Williams subsequently shared an image of the woman in her underwear and described an intimate video found on the device.
Street later asked to see the sexually explicit footage, saying he wanted to “show it to the lads at footy”.
Street also admitted Data Protection Act offences after sharing screenshots from a police computer system with his then-partner. The material contained personal information about members of the public who had complained about him.
Williams had previously pleaded guilty to misconduct in public office.
Street was sentenced to four years in prison, while Williams was jailed for 16 months.
Lisa Rose, Senior Specialist Prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime Division, said the case exposed “a sustained pattern of unacceptable conduct” and an abuse of a position of trust.
Cambridgeshire Chief Constable Simon Megicks said the officers’ conduct was “entirely unacceptable” and had damaged public trust and confidence.
He added that criminal behaviour and breaches of police standards would not be tolerated and praised those who came forward to report what they had witnessed.
