West Yorkshire PCSO passed police information to machete gang

Addressing Dobson, Judge Rose said she could expect a significant custodial sentence.

He said: “You had no purpose to access systems. The object was to obtain information concerning events to share with others and prevent the course of justice.”

He said Dobson had been “trusted and respected by the community” and had met Rahees Khan while doing voluntary work at a community project.

Giving evidence she claimed she had accessed files about the machete attack to see if she could “develop” any leads on the case and had spoken to Rahees Khan to encourage another man, who was at the time suspected of having been involved in the incident, to hand himself in.

Judge Rose, however, said he did not accept her explanation “or that it coincided in any way with her duty as a PCSO”.

The court heard Dobson had previously pleaded guilty to offences of perverting the course of justice and one count of misconduct in public office.

West Yorkshire Police said those offences covered “several instances of accessing police systems without a legitimate purpose, seeking to influence police investigations, and obtaining confidential information about individuals through police computer systems when there was no operational justification for doing so”.

Judge Rose said she had been responsible for “misusing her position as a PCSO to prevent the court of public justice” and had “a tendency” to commit offences of this type.

Det Ch Supt Tanya Wilkins said: “This was a calculated, pre-planned, horrific attack on two men on the streets of Bradford where these men thought they could take the law into their own hands.

“Today ends a lengthy court process. The victims are still living with the horrendous impact of the attack today.

“The conviction of PCSO Dobson for perverting the course of justice represents a serious breach of trust placed in those who serve our communities.”

She said Dobson remained suspended from duty and will face a gross misconduct hearing in due course.

All five male defendants have been remanded in custody and will be sentenced at Bradford Crown Court on 8 February.

Dobson was released on bail with a sentencing date to be fixed.