Brickbat: Running With a Rough Crowd

In England, former Merseyside police officer Daniel Hughes was sentenced to 12 months in prison, suspended for two years, after being convicted of eight counts of unauthorized access to computer material and three counts of knowingly disclosing personal data without consent. Between 2016 and 2019, Hughes repeatedly used police computer systems to look up information about his friends who were involved in organized crime. Then, between 2019 and 2021, he shared sensitive details about ongoing police investigations with them, all while never disclosing to the department his long-term friendships with suspected criminals.