IOPC welcomes sentences handed to former road safety staff after speed tickets deliberately deleted
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has welcomed the sentencing of two corrupt former camera operators who helped motorists to avoid fines.
Samantha Halden-Evans and Jonathan Hill were jailed for offences relating to the deleting of film evidence as a favour to friends caught speeding while working at Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership based at force headquarters in Stafford.
Halden-Evans, aged 36, was jailed for four years and two months for misconduct in public office, conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
Johnathan Hill, aged 47, a former speed camera technician, three times asked Halden-Evans for assistance about ticket offences to give speeding "friends peace of mind" was jailed for Hill was jailed for 18 months for conspiracy. Hill, of Newcastle-Under- Lyme, was subsequently sacked by the force for gross misconduct relating to offensive text messages sent to other force staff.
Wayne Riley, aged 41, also from Cheadle, was jailed for two years and eight months for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
Nikki Baker, 35, of Werrington, was jailed for 10 months for conspiracy to pervert the course of justice relating to a request to delete her speeding ticket, due to having points on her driving licence and to avoid a road ban.
All pleaded guilty to the offences at Stafford Crown Court.
The IOPC led the investigation that was carried out by Staffordshire Police’s Anti-Corruption Unit.
The conspiracy came to light after a burglary in Cheshire in 2020 when detectives examined a mobile phone and found messages, which were traced back to Halden-Evans. It was discovered that she had been deleting offence details so that people, many of whom were known to herself or to Hill, would avoid speeding penalties.
Halden-Evans also accessed and disclosed data on police computer systems to businessman Riley relating to a "highly sensitive" murder investigation. The mother-of-one resigned from Staffordshire Police in August 2021 prior to a disciplinary hearing and Hill was dismissed from the force following a disciplinary hearing in December 2021.
IOPC's operations director Steve Noonan said: “The offences committed by these two individuals amounted to very serious corruption. In addition to the deletion of speeding offences, evidence showed that Hill was asking Halden-Evans to check whether people had been caught by cameras speeding on certain roads.
"She was also passing on details about whether speed cameras in Staffordshire were active or not, and there were other data breaches including one relating to a murder investigation.
“Such behaviour is a betrayal of the public’s trust and undermines confidence in policing.
“This investigation is testament to how seriously the IOPC, law enforcement agencies and the criminal justice system takes this kind of behaviour and I am grateful to all those involved in ensuring justice was served today.”
