Crown: RCIPS staffer’s ‘road rage’ fuelled data misuse

(CNS): A police support staff member found herself in the dock this week accused of misusing the RCIPS database to access information to track down and confront a driver who made her angry on the way to work after a near miss due to a broken brake light. Veronica Victoria Cole from East End pleaded not guilty to one count of breach of trust by a public officer. But the crown says the RCIPS civilian employee misused her position when she found the details of the owner and called the driver of the car.

As he opened his case on Monday, prosecutor Greg Walcolm told the court that on 9 February during the morning commute Cole, was driving to work when the person in front of her broke suddenly and hard, almost causing a crash. The young driver of the car that broke hard said the driver behind her, which was Cole, had “flipped her off and had appeared angry” at what had happened.

There was no damage done, Walcolm said, but instead of just moving on, Cole had written down the make, model and registration details of the complainant’s car. When she got to work, she used the police records management system to find the vehicle and the details of the registered owners, their address and their phone number.

The car was registered to the driver’s mother and Cole called her, Walcolm said. In a recorded message played to the court, the jury heard Cole tell the driver’s mother that the car had a broken brake light and her daughter could be at risk of causing an accident or getting stopped by the police and given a ticket. She told the car’s owner that she needed to talk to her daughter about the light and asked for her phone number.

Cole went on to call the woman’s daughter. When she gave evidence in the case, the witness said Cole was confrontational, which she said made her become defensive. The young driver turned out to be a law school student and said she was aware of the Data Protection Law, so after the angry conversation, she lodged a complaint with the RCIPS Professional Standards Unit.

Cole is currently on suspension from her post with the RCIPS on full pay as she awaits the outcome of the trial.