Paul Street was jailed for four years at the Old Bailey after being found guilty of misconduct in public office and pleading guilty to Data Protection Act 2018 offences. The former Cambridge Constabulary sergeant had also shared screenshots from a police computer system that contained personal data about people who had complained against him.
Lisa Rose, a Senior Specialist Prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime Division, said the case exposed “a sustained pattern of unacceptable conduct by a police officer who abused his position of trust.” Street was also sentenced after the court heard he had been based at Cambourne Police Station in 2021.
Old Bailey sentencing
The court found Street guilty of two counts of misconduct in public office after a trial. He had previously pleaded guilty to two offences under the Data Protection Act 2018, and the four-year term was imposed on top of those admissions.
The case followed an investigation directed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Rose said Street “repeatedly crossed clear professional boundaries, by encouraging the mistreatment of detainees and seeking access to intimate material that had no place in a criminal investigation.”
April 2020 conduct
The conduct examined at trial began in April 2020, when Street made derogatory comments about a 17-year-old detainee after an arrest and strip search. He also encouraged the use of violence and recorded a video threatening to damage the family home of the teenager.
In October 2020, a woman was arrested and her mobile phone was examined by PC Josh Williams. After being told about the download, Street asked whether there were any explicit images, and Williams shared an image showing the woman in her underwear and described a sexually intimate video.
PC Josh Williams sentence
Street later asked to see the sexually explicit video and said he wanted to “show it to the lads at footy.” PC Josh Williams pleaded guilty on 27 May 2025 to misconduct in public office and was sentenced to 16 months' imprisonment.
Rose said, “Police officers are entrusted with significant powers and are expected to uphold the highest standards at all times.” She also said, “Members of the public should have confidence that any personal material obtained during an investigation will be handled lawfully and appropriately.”
