A POLICE inspector is facing a disciplinary hearing after allegations he passed on confidential information he accessed from the force computer system and passed it on to a third party.

Inspector Mark Doherty is also accused of altering a document during the course of the investigation in a bid to avoid detection.

The Cleveland Police officer will face a disciplinary hearing next week after being served with a regulation notice.

Exact details of the investigation have not been released ahead of the hearing but some details of the charge have been published by the force.

The charge reads: “The officer is alleged to have breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour in respect of Authority, Respect and Courtesy, Confidentiality, Orders and Instructions and Discreditable Conduct relating to allegations of wrongful disclosure of Information, in which the officer is alleged to have obtained information about a member of the public from police systems and disclosed this to a 3rd party who was not entitled to have it.

“Furthermore, the officer is alleged to have breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour in respect of Honesty and Integrity and Discreditable Conduct, relating to an allegation that he created a False Instrument by producing a document which was altered and submitted during the course of a Gross Misconduct Investigation.

“This included information about a member of the public believed to be false and misleading.”

Police officers have a duty to protect sensitive information relating to members of the public and are only allowed to access the data as part of a valid investigation or inquiry.

Officers across the country have access to the Police National Computer (PNC), which is a system that stores and shares criminal records information across the UK.

An officer could be dismissed from the force if they are found guilty of gross misconduct but there are a number of other sanctions available to the force, including a written warning.

l Cleveland Police has been contacted in an attempt to find out whether Insp Doherty is still a serving officer but at the time of going to print the force had not responded to the request.

Keep up to date with all the latest news on our website, or follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

You can also follow our dedicated Teesside Facebook page for all the latest in the area by clicking here.

For all the top news updates from right across the region straight to your inbox, sign up to our newsletter here.

Have you got a story for us? Contact our newsdesk on newsdesk@nne.co.uk or contact 01325 505054