Charlotte Servais, 33, of Stephenson Mews told a Southwark Crown Court jury: “I wasn’t aware the access was unauthorised until all this situation.”
Her three-day trial came to a conclusion when the jurors took less than two-and-a-half hours of deliberation to find her not guilty.
Servais pleaded not guilty to performing an unauthorised computer function between April 16 and 22, 2020 at the Metropolitan Police’s Central Communication Command in Peel Centre, Hendon, namely information relating to a stabbing.
She was visiting her mother’s home in Sunnymead Road, Roehampton on April 15, 2020 the same day self-employed painter and decorator Ralph Gibson, 42, was twice stabbed in the back in nearby Huntingfield Road and died on April 24.
She always admitted accessing the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) reports when she returned to work the next day even though the police investigation was not in her working area.
Servais, who has also been a Special Constable since January, 2011 and holds a Batchelor of Science in Criminology from the University of Roehampton, began working at the 999 call centre in October, 2013.
She told the trial she looked-up the relevant CAD reports twelve times over the next four days “out of curiosity.”
Her brother Callum Servais was later arrested by police, who searched the mother’s home on July 23, but he was released without charge.
Robinson Charles-Mario, 24, and Rudi Mitchell, 29 ended up being prosecuted at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court in relation to the killing.
Servais said the working culture at the 999 centre commonly saw staff accessing CAD reports when there was no real professional justification.
“It doesn’t make it right, but everybody does it,” she told the jury from the witness box. “Because of the culture there, everybody does it.”
She claimed to not know rules surrounding CAD reports were identical to making enquiries on the Police National Computer (PNC).
“I know not to go into the PNC to look at things you shouldn’t be looking at or looking at an ex-partner.
“That was not my understanding of CAD’s because of the culture of that environment.”
At the start of the trial prosecutor Paul Casey told the jury: “She was employed by the Metropolitan Police as a civilian member of police staff at the Met’s Central Communication Command (MCC).
“The MCC handles emergency and non-emergency calls from the public and other agencies and despatches police units across London.”
Servais only has responsibility for north, central and west London and not south London, where the stabbing occurred, the trial was told.
“People who do these jobs are placed in a considerable position of trust,” added Mr Casey. “She had a high degree of responsibility in fast moving potentially life-threatening incidents.”
An air ambulance rushed to Mr Gibson’s aid along with a specialist trauma team and he was helicoptered to King’s College Hospital and placed into an induced coma.
The Met’s Major Investigation Team launched an inquiry.
“Several arrests were made and one of these was Callum Servais, the brother of the defendant.”
Servais logged-in and read four CAD reports relating to the investigation.
“There needs to be some reason in a professional role that justified access to the CAD system,” explained Mr Casey. “Access to the CAD system is a privilege.
“Simply browsing and looking out of nosiness or curiosity is prohibited.
“She looked at them over a number of days. There was no policing purpose to justify her looking at these reports.”
In October, 2020 Servais was told she was under investigation and was questioned in May, 2021.
“She freely admitted viewing the CAD records and accepted she was wrong to do so, but will be saying in this trial: ‘At the time I did not know that.’
“She told officers she was not aware of the exact details and looked at the CAD reports the next day out of curiosity.
“She said she was not aware of anything involving her brother until July 23, when the police searched her brother’s bedroom.
“She was apologetic and said her actions were careless.
“The prosecution do not accept it was simply coincidence Servais accessed these four CAD reports of a fatal stabbing that had a connection with her brother.
“We do not say she provided any evidence of that stabbing to any other person.”
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