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Met Officer Jailed

April Casburn has been jailed for 15 months at the Old Bailey

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Detective jailed for 15 months

Chief Insp April Casburn, 53, seen outside Southwark Crown Court in January. Credit: PA

Detective Chief Inspector April Casburn was today jailed for 15 months at the Old Bailey after being found guilty last month of misconduct in public office for offering to sell information to the News of the World.

Casburn, 53, had been warned that a jail term was likely despite the fact that she is in the process of adopting a child.

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Judge: Corruption 'corrodes public faith in police force'

Sentencing, Mr Justice Fulford told April Casburn she had been guilty of "a corrupt attempt to make money out of sensitive and potentially very damaging information".

The judge went on:

Activity of this kind is deeply damaging to the administration of criminal justice in this country.

It corrodes the public's faith in the police force, it can lead to the acquittal or the failure by the authorities to prosecute individuals who have committed offences whether they are serious or otherwise.

We are entitled to expect the very highest standards of probity from our police officers, particularly those at a senior level.

It is, in my judgment, a very serious matter indeed when men or women who have all the benefits, privileges and responsibilities of public office use their position for corrupt purposes.

He said he was particularly concerned about Casburn's child, and admitted that her absence while she is in prison could be damaging.

But he said that, had she not been arrested, the detective would have returned to work by now, and therefore the child would be cared for by others anyway.

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Met Officer Jailed

Detective Chief Inspector April Casburn has been jailed for 15 months at the Old Bailey after being found guilty of misconduct in public office for offering to sell information to the News of the World

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