'He abused his privileged position ' - Corrupt Northumbria Police officer jailed after double life discovered

John Snaith, 42, from Felton, near Morpeth, Northumberland, was sentenced to two years imprisonment after pleading guilty to charges of police corruption and offering to supply cocaine to another at a hearing in February of this year.

The charges were brought in relation to Snaith’s failure to report the criminal activity of others in order to obtain drugs and sexual services from his co-defendant Marcela Muntean, 31, who pleaded guilty in September to charges of supplying cocaine and money laundering.

She was sentenced to a 12 month suspended prison sentence.

Superintendent Sav Patsalos, Head of the Professional Standards Department at Northumbria Police, said: “The Force identified a number of lines of inquiry in relation to Jon Snaith and carried out a thorough investigation.

“He was dismissed without notice at a misconduct hearing in September last year.

“This followed a court case where he pleaded guilty to driving whilst unfit through drugs.

“Earlier this year he admitted two other offences, for which he has now been sentenced.

“Snaith clearly abused his privileged position and his actions were completely unacceptable.

“We expect the highest standards from all of our officers and staff, both on and off-duty, and if they fall below these we will take appropriate action.

“I want to reassure the public that the sort of behaviour displayed by Snaith is not reflective of the outstanding professionalism and commitment displayed by officers and staff every day.”

Emma Dowling of the CPS said: “Every day, the people employed within the criminal justice system work diligently to bring those involved in criminal activity to justice.

“Cases such as this, though thankfully rare, are incredibly disappointing for all of us and can be understandably damaging to our continuous efforts to improve public confidence in our work.

“I would like to praise the decisive actions of Northumbria Police in this case.

“Once suspicions were raised about John Snaith’s behaviour, they moved swiftly to investigate and secure the key evidence that has enabled us to bring this criminal prosecution against him.

“The Crown Prosecution Service has worked closely with our police partners to build a robust case showing how Snaith selfishly abused his position of trust in the reckless pursuit of his own physical and sexual gratification, which has left him no viable option but to plead guilty to these offences.

“The trust of the communities we all serve is vital to the work we do and, where that trust is exploited for personal gain, the public can be confident that police and prosecutors will work together to bring those involved to justice.

“I sincerely hope that the conviction of John Snaith for these offences provides a good degree of reassurance to all members of the public that any criminal activity on the part of those working in the criminal justice system will simply not be tolerated.”