Officer confesses to leaking, ‘in error’

The constable expressed remorse claiming when the document was made available to him by seniors, he was supposed to save it and place it in a file. But in error, he sent the document to a chat group via WhatsApp.

The memo went viral on social media.

The constable said when he realised his error, he was at a loss on what to do. He reiterated that the message was not leaked deliberately.

He said when the leak was detected by Division Head, Snr Supt Kenny Mc Intyre and an investigation launched, he decided to come forward and disclose what he had done. Two weeks ago, a file was submitted to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions by officers of the Professional Standards Bureau.

According to reports, Senior Superintendent Kenny Mc Intyre had outlined certain police duties and exercises to be carried out in the Central Division between the extended weekend of Holy Thursday and Easter Monday. The document was emailed to police who were supposed to take part in these exercises.

The constable received a copy of the instructions for the exercises and when it was discovered that it was leaked, Snr Supt Mc Intyre was forced to change the time and areas just in case criminals read the leaked memo via social media.

Mc Intyre, in an earlier interview, told Newsday the leak had left him very embarrassed and brought the Police Service into disrepute.

Officers of the Cyber Crimes Unit assisted in the enquiries and the cell phones of several police officers were seized as part of the investigation.