Former Staffordshire road safety partnership staff jailed for conspiring to delete speeding offences

Two former camera operators for the Staffordshire Safer Roads Partnership have today (21 December) been jailed for conspiring to delete speeding offences so that people would avoid fines or prosecution. It follows an Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) directed investigation carried out by Staffordshire Police’s Anti-Corruption Unit.

Samantha Halden-Evans, aged 36, from Cheadle, was sent to prison for four years and two months when she appeared at Stafford Crown Court, having previously admitted conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office (MIPO). She also pleaded guilty to wilfully neglecting to perform duty/wilfully misconducting herself, and two counts of conspiring to pervert the course of justice.

Jonathan Hill, aged 47, from Newcastle, had also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit MIPO at an earlier hearing and he received an 18-month jail sentence.  

Two members of the public, one of whom was in a relationship with Halden-Evans, admitted conspiracy to pervert the course of justice at hearings in October. One of them received a sentence of two years and eight months, and the other ten months. 

Evidence gathered by the police indicated that while Halden-Evans and Hill were members of the safer roads partnership team, they conspired with each other between May 2019 and October 2020 to commit MIPO by failing to process data, so that individuals would avoid speeding penalties. 

The charges against Halden-Evans also alleged that on various dates between August 2017 and February 2021 she had accessed and disclosed data on police computer systems, both without authorisation.   

The conspiracy came to light after a burglary in Cheshire in 2020 when detectives examined a mobile phone and found messages, which were traced back to Halden-Evans. She was arrested in February 2021 and a phone was seized from her. Evidence was found that Halden-Evans had been deleting offence details so that people, many of whom were known to herself or to Hill, would avoid speeding penalties.  

Jonathan Hill was arrested in April 2021 and evidence showed that he had asked Halden-Evans to check number plates to see if the drivers had been caught speeding at specific locations.  

Halden-Evans resigned from Staffordshire Police in August 2021 prior to a disciplinary hearing and Hill was dismissed from the force following a disciplinary hearing in December 2021.

IOPC Director of Operations, Steve Noonan said: “The offences committed by these two individuals amounted to very serious corruption. In addition to the deletion of speeding offences, evidence showed that Hill was asking Halden-Evans to check whether people had been caught by cameras speeding on certain roads. She was also passing on details about whether speed cameras in Staffordshire were active or not, and there were other data breaches including one relating to a murder investigation.

“Such behaviour is a betrayal of the public’s trust and undermines confidence in policing.

“This investigation is testament to how seriously the IOPC, law enforcement agencies and the criminal justice system takes this kind of behaviour and I am grateful to all those involved in ensuring justice was served today.” 

Following our directed investigation, we found a case to answer for gross misconduct against Halden-Evans and Hill.

Staffordshire Police’s investigation was carried out under the IOPC’s direction after we received referrals from the force in February and April 2021. On conclusion of the investigation, we decided the matter should be referred to the Crown Prosecution Service, which authorised the charges.