Two corrupt police officers who fed information to suspected criminals about high profile investigations have been jailed.
Charles Fletcher, a former trainee detective with Nottinghamshire Police, supplied details of police investigations, including the murder of Nottingham jeweller Marian Bates, for a two-and-a-half-year period 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 in jail 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 background check on a woman at the request of her partner, who was a suspected criminal.
Passing sentence, Judge John Saunders QC said Fletcher's activities put the lives of vital witnesses and informants at risk, damaged the morale of the Nottinghamshire police force and undermined the trust placed in the police by members of the public.
He added: "Corrupt police officers do untold damage to the criminal justice system."
Steve Green, chief constable of Nottinghamshire Police, said after the sentencing that he felt "contempt and anger" for Fletcher and Parr, describing their behaviour as "base and selfish".
"We have been let down and, more importantly, the people we serve have been let down," he said.
