Former Cambridgeshire police officer jailed over supplying drugs, fraud and unauthorised access charges

A former Cambridgeshire police officer has been jailed for 18 months for offences including offering to supply class C drugs.

Mark Coteman, 35, who served as a PC with Cambridgeshire Constabulary and worked at Parkside police station in Cambridge, was sentenced at Cambridge Crown Court on Monday (8 July), having previously been dismissed without notice from the force on 14 May after he was found guilty of gross misconduct at a special case hearing chaired by Chief Constable Nick Dean.

Coteman pleaded guilty to offering to supply class C drugs - namely steroids - and to fraud by false representation and causing a computer to perform a function to secure/enable unauthorised access to a programme/data.

The investigation into the drug supply was directed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.

The other charges came about as a result of the collaborative work between the Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire Anti-Corruption Unit and the Regional Anti-Corruption Intelligence Unit.

Mr Dean said: “The public quite rightly expect the highest standard of professionalism from our officers and staff and we are determined to ensure that those who breach these standards are held to account.

“Any officer committing a criminal offence clearly dents public trust, both locally and across the police service. In this case it is beyond question that trust and confidence in policing has been damaged. His actions were deliberate, premeditated and planned and there can be no place in policing for such people.”

At the earlier police misconduct hearing, Coteman was found to have breached the Standards of Professional Behaviour in respect of equality and diversity, discreditable conduct, challenging and reporting improper conduct, integrity and authority, respect and courtesy.