A police officer from Perthshire has been fined after breaking data protection laws involving several women.
Gordon Isdale (31), of Blackford, is understood to have resigned from Central Scotland Police following a range of offences committed at Larbert Police Station, Stirlingshire, between 2007 and 2010.
Last week, Isdale was fined £1,600 at Stirling Sheriff Court after he admitted breaching the Data Protection Act. One of the charges related to the use of a confidential system to access information on individuals.
PC Isdale targeted several women, including transsexual Leeze Lawrence, to whom he sent text and phone messages.
A probe was subsequently launched by Central Scotland Police and officers found Isdale had used their computer system to access information on women.
It is understood he looked into the background of around 130 people during a three-year period while working as a policeman at Larbert Police Station.
Stirling Sheriff Court heard last week how he used three different computer systems to carry out searches on one woman over 12 months between 2009 and 2010.
The court heard how Isdale pleaded guilty to eight offences of breaching the Data Protection Act between November 2007 and August 2010.
One of the charges related to him using a highly confidential computer system to access information on 126 named individuals on 168 separate occasions.
Sentencing Isdale, Sheriff William Gilchrist told him: ”This was a very persistent and frequent breach of legislation about obtaining personal data to which you were not entitled.
”You undertook these illegal searches when you were on duty when you should have been doing something else.”
Quoted in a Scottish Sunday newspaper, Leeze Lawrence said: ”I couldn’t believe Isdale was only charged over the Data Protection offences after what he put me through it was torture.
”If the police can use something that is supposed to be for keeping people safe to spy on people, who can you turn to?
”The one thing I am happy about is that he is not a policeman any more.”
Central Scotland Police were unavailable for comment.