A former Cambridgeshire police officer has been jailed today (July 8).

Mark Coteman, who served as a PC, was handed an 18-month jail sentence after previously pleading guilty to three different crimes.

Coteman pleaded guilty to offering to supply Class C drugs (steroids), fraud by false representation, and causing a computer to perform a function to secure/enabled unauthorised access to a programme/data.

He faced a misconduct hearing earlier this year.

At the hearing in May 2024, Coteman was accused of offering to supply his associates with steroids.

A second accusation was that he provided information to people outside of the policing organisation by using classified police data.

He was also accused of falsely representing his financial situation to benefit from an IVA, which is a method of paying off debts with assistance from a court/creditors.

He was struck off from the force on May 14 after he was found guilty at the hearing, chaired by Chief Constable Nick Dean.

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

Chief Constable 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, pre-meditated and planned and there can be no place in policing for such people.”