Detective chief inspector found guilty of plotting with police colleague to ‘fit up’ two suspects

‘They deserve it. I hate burglars,’ senior West Yorkshire officer Elizabeth Belton texted her colleague

Elizabeth Belton sent a string of incriminating text messages to PC Judith Mulligan boasting about her actions (SWNS.com)

A senior police officer has been jailed for “fitting up” suspects in a burglary investigation.

Elizabeth Belton, a former detective chief inspector, was found guilty of conspiracy to pervert the court of justice and sentenced to two years in prison.

Her West Yorkshire Police colleague, PC Judith Mulligan, was given a 12-month sentence, suspended for two years, for her role in the conspiracy.

Leeds Crown Court heard that the pair had plotted to corrupt an identification procedure in an effort to secure convictions against two men.

Judge Tom Bayliss QC told Belton she had “driven a coach and horses” through police procedures designed to ensure integrity in the justice system.

“The public must be able to trust the police to uphold their rights,” he said. ”How can the public do that when senior police officers are subverting those rights?”

He added: “I think you, Elizabeth Belton, got carried away. You were showing off to your friend and you were throwing your weight around with junior colleagues.”

Belton sent a string of incriminating text messages to Mulligan boasting about interfering with an investigation, the court heard.

The corruption took place in September 2013, after two men tried to break into Mulligan’s home in the Pudsey area of Leeds.

Officers were unable to find any forensic evidence at the police constable’s house and the investigation hinged on Mulligan’s identification evidence.

The officer had first described two teenage suspects wearing dark clothing for the burglary, but officers stopped and arrested two men aged in their thirties. Mulligan later changed her description of the suspects, stating they were older.

The court heard how Mulligan and Belton arranged for photographs to be taken of the two arrested men and sent to the police constable prior to the identity procedure.

Belton sent text messages to Mulligan saying: “You’ve fit him up lol.” Her texts also described the suspects as “little sh*ts” and stated: “They deserve it. I hate burglars”.

The two men charged with attempted burglary were subsequently jailed for 12 months and 28 months.

The offence did not come to light until two years after the incident when Belton’s text messages were found by a detective constable who was investigating an unrelated case.

The prosecution said the messages were direct evidence of a plan to corrupt the identification procedure.

A third defendant, former police sergeant Mohammed Gother, was found not guilty of corrupting an identification procedure.

Additional reporting by SWNS