A female police officer nicknamed “hot cop” leaked confidential information about Nicola Bulley to her friends and family.
Molly Bury, 28, the former police constable, illegally accessed the Police National Computer database to get intimate updates about the missing mother-of-two’s case, while it was still ongoing, so she could share them with friends and family.
When one friend kept pressing her for more information, Bury, who worked for Lancashire police at the time, said: “I will get in s— if they see me checking.”
When pressed again she added: “I have not checked. I cannot keep checking. I will get into trouble.”
She faced up to two years in jail under sentencing guidelines but was handed six months in prison, suspended for 12 months, after a judge ruled she was “profoundly immature” and “not corrupt”.
Gayle McCoubrey, prosecuting, said the unnamed member of the public contacted police in March 2023, after overhearing Bury’s mother, Andrea Mercer, sharing information about a rape that had occurred in Lancashire.
“She was heard to say, ‘I asked Molly. She checked her police thing and she said it was a rape,’” the court heard.
Police systems then identified that Bury had viewed logs on a police-issued Samsung device while off duty.
Nicola Bulley, 45, was found dead in the River Wyre in 2023 – Family handout/PA
Investigations revealed Bury, who was nicknamed “hot cop” by locals after a crime prevention workshop, had been accessing the police logs between October 2019 and March 2023 to share “idle gossip” for ‘‘no policing purpose”.
She also obtained information on the death of a baby, a stabbing and a preplanned arrest of a robbery suspect.
She admitted she had been “stupid and nosey” but insisted she was not “malicious”.
Most of the information was accessed when she was on annual or sick leave.
Bury resigned from the force while under investigation, Lancashire police said.
Had she not already resigned she would have been dismissed, a misconduct hearing last year found.
Bulley, 45, was found dead in the River Wyre at St Michael’s on Wyre in Feb 2023 following a three-week search which provoked wild speculation on social media.
A coroner later concluded she had drowned after accidentally falling into the water while walking her dog.
Molly Bury resigned from the force while under investigation, Lancashire police said. – Cavendish Press
32 charges of unauthorised access to logs
Bury, a mother-of-one from Accrington in Lancashire, appeared at Chester magistrates’ court and admitted to 32 charges of unauthorised access to police logs.
Police raided Bury’s home and recovered a mobile phone which showed she had sent confidential information about various police incidents.
In October 2019, she sent details about a stabbing incident which she had attended to a friend named Elliott, saying: “The lad from [the] stabbing survived.”
She later sent him further messages saying: “A hit and run just came in. Woman probably going to die. Car drove onto the pavement into this lad and girl.”
In a further message regarding a dead baby found in Dec 2019, Bury said: “Oh my God, it is a one-year-old child.”
On a day off she sent further texts, saying to Elliott: “Undercover police are outside your address,” to which he replied: “F— the feds.”
At 10.59am on Jan 29 2023, Bury was on a sick day when her friend, a woman named Amy Sanderson, asked: “Any update on Nicky?” to which she replied: “I will get in s— if they see me checking,” Ms McCoubrey told the court.
Ms McCoubrey added: “At 11.01am, she accessed the Samsung device and searched again and a further message was sent regarding Nicola Bulley.
St Michael’s residents hold up cards during the search for Nicola Bulley, which provoked speculation on social media – Warren Smith
“At 6.33pm, Ms Sanderson sent a message saying ‘Any update?’ and Bury replied: ‘I have not checked. I cannot keep checking. I will get into trouble.’”
Ms McCoubrey told the court: “It is difficult to assess the harm as we do not know what the outcome was from accessing that information. She was spreading gossip or sensitive information. There was no policing purposes for this defendant to access the logs on these occasions.”
Bury was also ordered to complete 30 days of rehabilitation activity and pay £154 in costs and surcharge.
Deputy Senior District Judge Tan Ikram said: “These are not corrupt messages. There is no money involved. There is no suggestion this is a criminal fraternity.
“She clearly knew what she was doing was wrong, but the harm is damage to the reputation of police and confidence in policing. It was immature gossiping throughout. She was doing work without any insight into the job. It was tittle tattle nonsense much of it.”
Det Ch Insp Pete Reil, from the force’s anti-corruption unit, said: “Molly Bury’s behaviour fell way below what the constabulary expects and what the public would expect of a serving police officer.
“I want to make it clear that the overwhelming majority of police officers in Lancashire are law abiding, respectful and go to work to make a difference in the communities in which they serve.
“Where there is any evidence of wrongdoing by an officer or staff member, our [anti-corruption unit] will identify it, investigate it and work with the Crown Prosecution Service to take the appropriate action.”
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