Police sergeant shared confidential data with former deputy chief constable father

A sergeant with an exemplary record with the Manx force has been fined for disclosing confidential police data to his father, a former Deputy Chief Constable. Richard Alan Cretney, 46, pleaded guilty to knowingly or recklessly disclosing personal data without consent, in breach of the force’s GDPR regulations. He had been due to face a summary trial before High Bailiff James Brooks but changed his plea to guilty at the 11th hour. Six other charges of disclosing personal data were dismissed. The court heard Sergeant Cretney has been suspended since April 2024. His advocate Stephen Wood said: ‘It’s such a shame that an exemplary officer’s career had effectively come to an end in this manner.’ The High Bailiff said what the officer had done was inexplicable. He likened it to a child ‘giddy with gossip’ wanting to share information with his father. Prosecutor Kath Johnson told the court that on April 19, 2024, the officer’s phone had been seized by police and examined. A number of messages were discovered that had been exchanged between the defendant and his father, former Deputy Chief Constable Alan Cretney. The information shared concerned an incident which occurred in a car park in which a woman was said to have impersonated a police officer. ‘Hope she gets done. Will she be arrested and interviewed?’ asked Mr Cretney senior. ‘No, she won’t,’ replied his son. ‘I don’t think the informant is bothered.’ [Read Full Story on Isle Of Man Today →](https://www.iomtoday.co.im/news/police-sergeant-shared-confidential-data-with-former-deputy-chief-constable-father-955587)