Lancashire Police sergeant who used force computer to stalk colleague jailed

A former police sergeant who used police computer systems to stalk a junior colleague has been jailed for just under two years.

Justin Fraser, 51, a former response sergeant with Lancashire Police, was highly regarded in the force and had received two commendations for his bravery.

When a junior colleague called off an affair with the married officer, he launched a campaign of harassment which left her anxious and upset.

Fraser used confidential police systems to check on the woman's whereabouts and gather 'evidence' she was having an affair with another colleague - an allegation which had no basis.

He reported her to her supervisor in an attempt to cause trouble for the junior officer.

But at Preston Crown Court, The Honorary Recorder of Preston, Judge Robert Altham, said his actions were "malicious" and so serious only an immediate prison sentence was justified.

He sentenced Fraser, of Holliers Close, Liverpool, to 21 months for stalking, with a month to run concurrently for misuse of the police computer systems.

The court heard Fraser met the woman in 2015 when he was assigned as her tutor. In December 2017, when they were working on the same team at Skelmersdale Police Station, they began a six-month affair, with Fraser saying he would leave his wife for her.

However when the woman ended the relationship, he continued to message her asking for another chance.

In February 2020, he visited her at home while she was recovering from surgery but became jealous when a friend's name popped up on her phone screen. He shouted at the woman causing her to cry and ask him to leave, the court heard.

By June 2022, the woman had moved teams, but Fraser also took a job as acting sergeant, and later full time sergeant on the same team.

During a work night out in Blackpool, Fraser messaged her, asking if she would give him another chance. The woman said she did not want a scene at a work event, but the messages continued into the night.

On 26 June, the woman blocked Fraser on WhatsApp after he accused her of having an affair with another colleague. The following day he sent her a message on Instagram, saying he was going to speak to the other officer and told the woman to "warn him".

The woman phoned Fraser in tears, begging him to leave her alone but the harassment continued.

On 30 June she received a voicemail recording in which Fraser could be heard speaking to her sergeant.

Fraser claimed he had bodycam footage which proved she was having an affair. In the hour that followed the woman received 12 blocked calls from Fraser.

"This incident with the voicemail was a sophisticated form of stalking, making a false report to her immediate supervisor using unlawfully obtained material, and ensuring it was transmitted to her voicemail", Judge Altham said.

"Clearly a good deal of thought had gone into it to make sure it caused maximum distress."

The officer's sergeant did not accept the footage showed any evidence of an affair - however he was concerned at how Fraser had obtained the footage from police computer systems.

The following month, Fraser was tasked to work at the same Lancashire police station as the colleague, and repeatedly stared at the officer as she was working in the parade room.

The woman moved seats to avoid him, but Fraser also moved seats to get a clearer view. When the woman went to make drinks for her colleagues, Fraser approached her in the kitchen. "It wasn't me who dobbed you in with the bodycam", he told her.

In September 2022, Fraser was arrested on suspicion of stalking and misuse of police computer systems. An investigation showed he had unlawfully accessed the system where body worn camera footage was stored in order to check on the woman.

He had also used other computer systems to check the location of her and her colleague, who he accused her of having an affair with.

Fraser checked on the woman 178 times and her male colleague 71 times - all of which were unlawful.

He pleaded guilty to stalking and misuse of police computer systems.

In a victim statement, the woman said her mental health had suffered and she had taken additional time off work. Her work had been affected and she felt marginalised by colleagues as a result of Fraser's treatment of her, she said.

The court heard Fraser, who served in the army, had PTSD, depression and anxiety, however Judge Altham said he did not see how that would have led to the offending.

He said: "You accessed police systems to try and get your victim into trouble for having an affair, when you yourself had an affair with her.

"It was plainly a malicious thing to do. You say you never appreciated that your use of the computer systems was a criminal matter. That simply can not be true.

"You seek to paint a wholly unrealistic picture of yourself. Your stalking is aggravated by you being in a position of trust with a junior colleague.

"You are a senior police officer, expected to use your position to uphold, rather than to break the law."

The judge said: "A person in your position, misusing computer systems to harass a junior colleague over a period of time is too serious to be met with anything other than immediate custody.

"I doubt that rehabilitation would be effective as you do not seem to appreciate what you have done."

Judge Altham also made a restraining order, preventing Fraser from contacting his victim directly or indirectly for seven years.

Fraser retired from Lancashire Police before the investigation into his offending had concluded, and no longer works as a police officer.

A misconduct hearing found that if he was still a serving officer Fraser would have been guilty of gross misconduct and he would have been dismissed from Lancashire Constabulary.

He was added to the Barred List, which prevents him from ever working in law enforcement again.

Temporary DCI Eugene Swift, from Lancashire Police Anti-Corruption Unit, said: “We expect the highest standard of behaviour from all our officers and staff, and Fraser’s conduct fell well short of what the public would expect from a serving police officer.

"The fact he is now a convicted criminal reflects the seriousness of what he did.

“We are committed to protecting women from all forms of violence, harassment and intimidation and where wrongdoing is identified we will do everything in our power to bring the perpetrator to justice as we have done in this case.”