Former Cambridgeshire police officer jailed for fraud and offering to supply drugs

A former Cambridgeshire police officer has been jailed for 18 months.

Mark Coteman, who served as a PC with Cambridgeshire Constabulary, appeared at Cambridge Crown Court today (8 July) where he was handed the sentence after previously pleading guilty to offering to supply class C drugs (steroids), 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 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.

Coteman was 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 in Tempsford.

He 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.

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.”

Cambridgeshire Police said they did not have a photo of Coteman