Court worker tipped off criminals about searches

A court worker has been jailed after leaking details of search warrants to criminals.

Alexandra Power, 40, was caught when a drug-dealer was arrested in July 2023 and was found to have information on his phone that could only have come from court documents.

An IT audit found Power, who worked at South Sefton Magistrates' Court in Bootle, Merseyside, had viewed files containing the documents 98 times over two days - despite not being authorised to access them.

Power, from Brentwood Avenue in Crosby, was jailed for two years at Manchester Crown Court after pleading guilty to perverting the course of justice and unauthorised access to a computer.

The court heard Power also had confidential information on her own phone when she was arrested.

Police forces have to apply to magistrates' courts for search warrants to be issued, although the applications are decided in secret.

Det Ch Insp Paul McVeigh said: "Her actions had a direct impact on criminal investigations and were clearly a massive breach of the position of trust she held.

"The public expects for people working in Power's position to uphold the law and it is right that she is now behind bars as a result of her actions.

"We worked closely with His Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS) to identify Power at the earliest opportunity and a full review has taken place to ensure this does not happen again."

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