Former Bedfordshire police employee charged following investigation into corruption allegations

A former Bedfordshire police employee is due in court to face charges for corruption-related offences following an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) directed investigation, carried out by the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire’s (BCH) Professional Standards Department.

Lauren Thomas, aged 24, is due to attend Luton Magistrates’ Court on 13 July. She has been charged with misconduct in public office (MIPO), conspiracy to commit MIPO, and offences under the Computer Misuse Act (1990) and Data Protection Act (2018).

The charges relate to alleged offending between April 2021 and July 2022 and relate to the misuse of computer systems including unlawfully accessing information through vehicle searches linked to herself or vehicles linked to crime, without a policing purpose. Ms Thomas was employed as a Vehicle Liaison Officer and an Information Rights officer during part of this period. It’s also alleged that confidential information was relayed to an external party.

We began a directed investigation in July 2022 following a referral from BCH. At the end of the investigation in January, we decided to refer a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, which authorised the charges.