A former police officer in South Yorkshire has been jailed for blackmailing a suspect to pay off gambling debts.

Marie Thompson, 29, has been jailed for three years and four months after an investigation by South Yorkshire Police’s Professional Standards Department (PSD), as detailed in a report from the police force. The former police constable was found guilt of blackmailing a suspect in one of her own cases.

In 2023, Thompson, who was working in Doncaster, anonymously reached out to a suspect she was investigating. She used a fake email account to attempt to force a £3,500 ($4,600) ransom from the suspect to keep the allegations against them quiet.

The suspect took the blackmail to the police, with the case then allocated to Thompson as it was thought to be connected to her ongoing investigation. Thompson recorded false notes that the suspect did not want to pursue further steps in the investigation.

Another anonymous email was sent by Thompson a few days later, under the subject line: “I’m so sorry.” The email said that the sender was desperate, apologized for the previous blackmail attempt, and promised to stop all contact. Suspicions were nonetheless raised against Thompson, leading to a PSD investigation and then her arrest in October 2023.

Thompson was still in her probation period with South Yorkshire Police and was immediately suspended upon her arrest. Further investigation from PSD found that the emails had been sent from her personal laptop and that Thompson was in “significant debt through gambling”, although the exact amount is not publicly known.

Police officer charged and sentenced

After pleading guilty at Leeds Crown Court on September 4, Thompson was sentenced to three years and four months in prison for blackmail and perverting the course of justice. She has also been served with a Regulation 13 notice, which deems her unfit to serve as a police officer.

“Thompson’s crimes are shameful and cast a shadow over the excellent work being delivered for our communities by policing colleagues driven by fairness, integrity and trust,” said Detective Constable Alexandra Furniss, the officer in charge of this case.

“There is no place in our force for police officers who fail to live and work by our values and standards. Our work to root out these individuals continues in our tireless bid to ensure our force builds and maintains the trust and confidence of the public.”

A similar story was reported last month in Australia’s New South Wales, where a police officer sold gold bars to fund his gambling debts.

Featured image: South Yorkshire Police

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