Former TV police star Paul Street sentenced to four years for requesting suspect's sex video
Ex-police officer and TV personality Paul Street received a four-year jail term after he asked a colleague to send him a female suspect’s sex video.
Former police sergeant Paul Street, aged 41, who rose to fame on one outlet and Channel 4 crime shows, was sentenced at the Old Bailey to four years’ imprisonment for serious misconduct. An anti-corruption probe in 2021 revealed that Street ran two WhatsApp groups in which he encouraged bullying of a teenage detainee and asked a fellow officer to forward a sex video of a female suspect. The investigation also uncovered a threatening video he sent to a child in custody.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct’s Emily Barry called his behaviour an abuse of authority that eroded public trust. She praised the whistle-blower who reported Street and stressed the need to safeguard such officers. The court also sentenced another officer, Josh Williams, underscoring the seriousness of the offences.
Why it matters
The case shows how police abuse and a toxic workplace can undermine public confidence and the importance of protecting whistle-blowers.
In this story
