Organised criminals are feared to have infiltrated the police force which inspired popular BBC show Line of Duty, by getting associates to apply for jobs to leak sensitive material.
West Midlands Police, the biggest force in England after the Met, is aware of at least 50 officers who have criminal associates, friends or relatives, and it has cited unauthorised disclosure of sensitive information to crime gangs as a big threat.
Crime syndicates have been trying to get information on police raids, whether they are under investigation, rival gangs and even the personal details of victims.
Organised criminals are feared to have infiltrated the police force which inspired popular BBC show Line of Duty, by getting associates to apply for jobs to leak sensitive material. Above: DI Kate Fleming (left), played by Vicky McClure; Chief Superintendent Ted Hastings (centre), played by Adrian Dunbar and DS Steve Arnott (right), played by Martin Compston. They are the central team in Line of Duty's AC-12
New measures have been put in place to counteract the threat, including the toughening up of vetting processes to weed out potential risks before new recruits join, the Sunday Express reported.
They also check applicants' social media profiles to try to weed out any potential connections with criminals.
But the force's strategic threat assessment, which was released under freedom of information, suggests some gangs have already been able to get people into posts within the force.
In Line of Duty, officers Detective Sergeant Steve Arnott, played by Martin Compston; Detective Inspector Kate Fleming, played by Vicky McClure, and Chief Superintendent Ted Hastings, played by Adrian Dunbar, make up anti-corruption unit AC-12.
The fictional unit - which is thought to have been based on a force in the Midlands - works to root out corruption in the police force and across each of the five series which have aired so far, a different malign officer is pursued.
West Midlands Police, the biggest force in England after the Met, has cited
