Police officer to face data breach trial

A SENIOR police officer is to stand trial on charges she illegally accessed police computers to obtain private information.

Inspector Allison Strachan, 49, will appear on four charges alleging she breached the Data Protection Act at Edinburgh Sheriff Court in March.

Strachan’s lawyer Robbie Burnett entered not-guilty pleas to the allegations following a hearing at the city’s sheriff court yesterday.

The solicitor entered the pleas after a hearing that was called to debate legal issues.

After proceedings, depute fiscal Ruth Ross-Davie agreed to withdraw a charge alleging that Strachan attempted to pervert the course of justice on various occasions at a number of police stations between October 2006 and September 2009.

Strachan, of Edinburgh, who was not present in court yesterday, now faces charges that allege she illegally accessed top-secret databases at various police stations in the Lothian and Borders force area between November 2006 and May 2010.

Sheriff Fiona Reith QC fixed Strachan’s trial for March. A preliminary hearing will be held at the court in February.