Council worker who unlawfully accessed hundreds of personal records handed suspended sentence

A Herefordshire council worker who unlawfully accessed hundreds of personal records has been handed a suspended sentence, following an investigation by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO).

The ICO’s Head of Investigations said Geoffrey Smith, 31, from Ledbury, Herefordshire, used his access to the council’s systems to view the personal information of people known to him, “without any legitimate reason to do so”.

Smith was a new employee at Herefordshire Council working in the Children and Young People directorate.

His unlawful conduct was discovered after concerns were raised within the council about potential unauthorised access to a referral case, prompting an investigation into other records he had accessed.

That investigation revealed that, over four days, Smith unlawfully accessed approximately 490 records and downloaded 94 documents. The records related to his family members and families known to him and included children and adults.

The records accessed involved “highly sensitive material” such as medical records, social worker reports and child and family assessments, said the ICO.

On 27 May 2026, Smith pleaded guilty to an offence under Section 1 of the Computer Misuse Act 1990, relating to the unlawful accessing of personal data held on computers.

Smith was sentenced at Worcester Magistrates' Court following a hearing on 17 July to two months imprisonment suspended for 12 months, 120 hours unpaid work, £2,000 costs plus a victim surcharge of £154.

Andy Curry, ICO Head of Investigations, said: "Smith abused his position as an employee and used his access to Herefordshire Council's systems to view the personal information of people known to him, without any legitimate reason to do so.

"The sensitive nature of the records held within a Children and Young People directorate, and Smith’s systematic misuse of that information, makes this particularly serious. People have a right to expect that their personal information is kept safe, and that those with access to it will only use it for the purposes for which it was intended.

"We will always take action to protect the public from those who misuse their access to sensitive information."

Herefordshire Council has been approached for comment.