A former trainee officer with West Yorkshire Police has been permanently banned from returning to policing after officials found she repeatedly searched confidential systems to assist her boyfriend, who was involved in drug crime.
Maryam Ilyas, 20, accessed restricted police databases on three occasions between March and May 2025 to look up information connected to an active investigation involving her partner. The unauthorised searches came to light when the man was arrested in June, and officers uncovered conversations between the pair referencing drug activity and photographs of large sums of cash.
Ilyas had joined the force in June 2024 as a student officer. Although police staff are required to declare personal relationships that could create conflicts of interest, she did not disclose her connection with the man at any stage of recruitment or training. During an interview in January, she claimed she did not know about his involvement in criminal activity—an explanation the disciplinary panel later rejected.
Before the misconduct hearing took place, Ilyas resigned from the force. However, the panel ruled that dismissal would have been the appropriate outcome had she remained an employee. Former Deputy Chief Constable Catherine Hankinson, who chaired the hearing, said digital evidence showed a continuing relationship between Ilyas and the suspect well into the summer of 2025.
Hankinson described Ilyas’s behaviour as “deliberate,” “sustained,” and “a serious breach of trust,” adding that access to confidential systems is granted only on the basis that officers uphold the highest levels of honesty and integrity.
“The public rightly expect police officers to act with transparency and professionalism,” she said. “While the vast majority of our officers meet those expectations, the actions of the former trainee undermine the confidence placed in policing and in the colleagues who serve with dedication.”
Ilyas admitted the misconduct allegations, including failing to report the relationship and misusing police equipment, and was formally found to have committed gross misconduct. Speaking previously to The Sun, she said she felt overwhelmed in her role as a new recruit, stating, “I was a student officer… I was really new to all this and I feel like I was expected to know everything straight away.”
Her name will now be placed on the national barred list, preventing her from working in policing or other law-enforcement roles in the future.
Source:Africa Publicity
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