Essex Police officer to appear at court charged with computer misuse offences

An Essex Police officer will appear at court charged with an offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 following an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation.

Police Constable Scott Gardner-McLean, 21, based at Clacton-on-Sea police station, is due to appear at Colchester Magistrate’s Court on Tuesday, 26 January.

It is alleged PC Gardner-McLean used the police computer system to access records he had no legitimate policing purpose for doing so.

PC Gardner-McLean was notified of the decision to charge him on 9 December 2020.

Our investigation began in October 2019 and completed in April 2020. At the investigation’s conclusion, we referred a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which made the decision to charge the officer.