A former police officer has been sentenced after sharing information with her family about the Nicola Bulley investigation.
Lancashire Police said they received a report in March 2023 “regarding the potential unauthorised disclosure of sensitive police information”.
The force said the mother of PC Molly Bury was overheard at a social event in Burnley telling someone “Molly checked the police system”.
PC Bury, 28, later admitted 32 counts under the Computer Misuse Act and received a six-month suspended sentence at Chester Magistrates Court.
Ms Bulley, 45, disappeared in St Michael’s on Wyre, Lancashire, in January 2023 while walking her dog.
Her body was found 23 days later a mile from where she was last seen, with her cause of death revealed to be accidental drowning after falling in the River Wyre.
Bury, who worked as a response officer, had also told her mother about a separate rape investigation and also a murder case, police said.
A warrant was served at a property in Oswaldtwistle in December 2023 and electronic devices were seized, which revealed Bury had accessed police computer systems between 31 October 2019 and 8 May 2023 while on rest days or off sick.
Bury was arrested and interviewed in March before being summonsed to appear at court.
Bury, from Oswaldtwistle, pleaded guilty when she appeared at Warrington Magistrates Court in November and was later sentenced at Chester Magistrates Court.
Bury resigned as a police officer while under investigation.
A case of gross misconduct was proved at an accelerated misconduct hearing held last year where it was deemed had she not already resigned she would have been dismissed.
Bury has also been added to the police barred list.
Det Ch Insp Pete Reil said: “The public trust the police with their data, particularly when they or their loved ones have been victims of crime.
“They expect officers and police staff to act responsibly and sensitively with it.
“Molly Bury’s behaviour fell way below what the constabulary expects and what the public would expect of a serving police officer.”
