A former police officer has been jailed for misconduct in public office after he requested a sexually explicit video from a female suspect’s phone.

Paul Street, 41, a former sergeant with Cambridge Constabulary, was found guilty of two counts of misconduct in public office following a trial at the Old Bailey. He also previously pleaded guilty to two offences under the Data Protection Act 2018.

Street was formerly based at Cambourne Police Station in 2021 and was leading a team focused on tackling county lines drug supply and organised crime.

During the trial, jurors heard how Street encouraged a toxic WhatsApp culture within his team, sharing abusive messages with fellow officers and using inflammatory language.  

Following an incident in April 2020, Street made derogatory comments about a 17-year-old detainee following his arrest and strip search. He encouraged the use of violence and recorded a video threatening to damage the family home of the teenager.

In October 2020, a woman was arrested and her mobile phone was examined by PC Josh Williams, 38, also of Cambridgeshire Constabulary. After being informed of the phone download, Street asked if there were any explicit images.

PC Williams shared an image showing the woman in her underwear and described a sexually intimate video. Street later asked to see the sexually explicit video from the device, saying he wanted to ‘show it to the lads at footy’.

PC Williams, of Huntingdon, pleaded guilty on 27 May 2025 to misconduct in public office.

Street also committed offences under the Data Protection Act by sharing screenshots from a police computer system with his then partner. These contained personal data relating to members of the public who had made complaints against him.

Today at the Old Bailey, Street was jailed for a total of four years, while PC Williams was sentenced to 16 months' imprisonment. 

The prosecution followed an investigation directed by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Lisa Rose, Senior Specialist Prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service’s Special Crime Division, said: “This case exposed a sustained pattern of unacceptable conduct by a police officer who abused his position of trust.

“Paul Street repeatedly crossed clear professional boundaries, by encouraging the mistreatment of detainees and seeking access to intimate material that had no place in a criminal investigation.

“Police officers are entrusted with significant powers and are expected to uphold the highest standards at all times.  Members of the public should have confidence that any personal material obtained during an investigation will be handled lawfully and appropriately.

“The actions of Paul Street and Joshua Williams represented a serious breach of that trust.”