'hot cop' who abused position to get intimate updates about nicola bulley sacked

PC MOLLY BURY, WHO WAS GIVEN THE NICKNAME 'HOT COP', ACCESSED THE POLICE NATIONAL COMPUTER TO GET UPDATES ABOUT THE SEARCH FOR NICOLA BULLEY AND OTHER CASES AT THE REQUEST OF

FRIENDS AND FAMILY MEMBERS. JON MACPHERSON Chief Reporter and KENNY PARKER 19:59, 27 Feb 2025 A police officer dubbed the 'hot cop' has been dismissed from her role for misusing

her position to access confidential information about the search for Nicola Bulley. PC Molly Bury, who was stationed at Blackburn with Lancashire Police, unlawfully used the Police National

Computer to gather personal details about the 45-year-old mum-of-two at the behest of friends and family, dismissing the sensitive data as mere 'gossip. A court heard that when one

friend persistently asked her, Bury responded: ''I will get in sh*t if they see me checking." When pressed further, she added: "I have not checked. I cannot keep

checking. I will get into trouble." The 28-year-old also procured information on a baby's death, a hit-and-run incident, a stabbing, a log about a domestic violence case and

obtained details about a pre-planned arrest of a robbery suspect. Nicola Bulley disappeared in January 2023, leading to an extensive police search and weeks of speculation. Her body was

discovered in the River Wyre in February of the same year. A coroner later determined that she had drowned after accidentally falling into the water while walking her dog. Bury was arrested

after a member of the public overheard her mother revealing how "Molly" had shared information about a rape case after she "checked her police thing". Investigations have

uncovered that Bury, who earned the moniker 'Hot Cop' from locals after being photographed sharing crime prevention advice at a children's centre, had been perusing police

logs for three years from October 2019 to March 2023. She was found to be sharing 'idle gossip' with no policing purpose. When questioned, she confessed to being ''stupid

and nosey'' but maintained she was "not malicious". The majority of the information was accessed while she was on annual leave or off sick. At Chester Magistrates Court,

Bury, a mother-of-one from Accrington, admitted to 32 counts of unauthorised access to police logs. Although sentencing guidelines suggest up to two years in prison, she received a

six-month sentence, suspended for 12 months, reports Lancs Live. The judge deemed her "profoundly immature", but "not corrupt". Earlier, prosecutor Gayle McCoubrey

explained an anonymous member of the public alerted the police in March 2023, after overhearing Bury's mother discussing details about a rape case in Lancashire. McCoubrey stated:

"She was heard to say, 'I asked Molly. She checked her police thing and she said it was a rape.' "She said Molly had told her about a victim a few weeks prior and she

said it was a murder." It was confirmed that WPC Molly Bury had viewed both logs on a police-issued Samsung device while off duty. Authorities searched Bury's residence and seized

a mobile phone, revealing she had leaked sensitive details about multiple police incidents. In one instance, in October 2019, she shared information with a friend named Elliot regarding a

stabbing she had responded to, stating: "The lad from stabbing survived." She proceeded to send additional messages, including: "A hit and run just came in. Woman probably

going to die. Car drove onto the pavement into this lad and girl." Bury also shared an update regarding a deceased infant discovered in December 2019, saying: "Oh my God, it is a

one year old child." While on a scheduled day off, she sent Elliot further messages, warning: "Undercover police are outside your address." This prompted the response:

"F** the feds." According to the prosecution, Bury also shared confidential details with a woman called Amy Sanderson about person wanted for a stabbing, another imprisoned for

drug offences, and a woman who had jumped off a building. Miss McCoubrey added: "On January 28, 2023, the defendant was showing as off sick yet she carried out a search for Nicola

Bulley and messages were sent regards that. "She sent a number of text messages with regard to that missing person." "On January 29, she was sick but has again accessed the

police system and viewed deployed patrols. At 10.59 Miss Sanderson asked: 'Any update on Nicky?' She replied, 'I will get in shit if they see me checking.'" "At

11.01, she accessed the Samsung device and searched again and a further message was sent regarding Nicola Bulley. At 6.33 Miss Sanderson sent a message 'Any update?' and Miss Bury

replied: " I have not checked. I cannot keep checking. I will get into trouble.'"" 'You crossed boundaries' Bury was also ordered to complete 30 days of

rehabilitation activity and pay £154 in costs and surcharge. Deputy Senior District Judge Tan Ikram proceeded to sentence without hearing mitigation and said the messages were 'not

corrupt' but 'immature' and 'tittle tattle nonsense'. He told Bury that while her actions were not 'malicious', they had 'crossed boundaries',

reminding her that she is a police officer '24 hours a day, seven days a week'. "You made admissions and you were remorseful in the interview," he said. "I think it

was real remorse. "You described your actions as stupid and that you had been nosey. You did not think you were malicious and I accept that. "But you conceded that it crossed

boundaries and these undignified and unlawful disclosures demonstrated profound immaturity on your part. "There was a complete lack of insight into the need for confidentiality in

policing. You seem to find humour and positive pleasure in sharing information. "On occasions it is clearly more than curiosity and it is clear that it gives the impression of idle

gossip." Article continues below The judge added: ''You are a police officer 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Just like I am a district judge 24 hours a day, seven days a

week. "It does not matter where I am or what I am doing - I am accountable. I find your behaviour disappointing." JOIN OUR WHATSAPP COMMUNITIES ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and

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