Former Merseyside officer sentenced for illegal police database searches and data leaks

Daniel Hughes, a former officer with Merseyside police, was sentenced to a 12-month custodial term, suspended for two years, after a jury convicted him of eight counts of unauthorised computer access under the Computer Misuse Act 1990 and three counts of unlawful data disclosure under the Data Protection Act 2018. The offences stemmed from repeated, illicit searches of police databases from 2016 to 2019, targeting intelligence on serious organised-crime cases involving firearms and drugs.

Between 2019 and 2021 he also relayed confidential investigation material to third parties. Hughes was taken into custody in March 2022, his devices were seized, and he was charged by the Crown Prosecution Service. He denied the allegations at a trial in April 2026, but was found guilty in June. After the verdict, an internal misconduct hearing led to his dismissal from the force in July.