Corrupt police officers are jailed

Two corrupt police officers who fed information to suspected criminals about high-profile investigations were jailed yesterday.

Charles Fletcher, a former trainee detective with Nottinghamshire Police, supplied details of inquiries, including the investigation into the murder of Nottingham jeweller Marian Bates, between December 2002 and June last year.

In return for his services, the 25-year-old received discounts on designer suits from a Nottingham fashion store, Birmingham Crown Court heard. He was jailed for seven years after admitting conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.

His co-defendant Philip Parr, 40, a former police constable with the same force, was sentenced to 12 months after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit misconduct in a public office between November 2004 and August 2005.

The court heard he leaked details of a burglary suspect and ran a check on a woman at the request of her partner, who was a suspected criminal.

Passing sentence, Judge John Saunders QC said Fletcher put the lives of vital witnesses and informants at risk, damaged the morale of the police and undermined public confidence. The court was told the information he gleaned was of "limited significance".

Jason Grocock, 33, who forwarded the information to suspected criminals, was jailed for four-and-a-half years after admitting the same offences as Fletcher.