A POLICE officer has been charged with obtaining crime files at work for non-policing purposes.
Keith Knowles, 48, is accused of accessing personal data on various occasions between July 13, 2010, and September 7, 2012.
It is claimed he viewed the data, or information contained in the files, without the consent of the Chief Constable.
Mr Knowles is accused of knowingly or recklessly obtaining 13 files stored in the former Grampian Police system on different dates.
Five of the files are said to have been accessed at Grampian Police headquarters on Queen Street in Aberdeen between July and September 2010. He is further claimed to have viewed eight crime files at police offices at Woodhill House on the city's Westburn Road between July and September 2012.
Mr Knowles faces four charges of breaching the Data Protection Act Section 55 (1) (a) by accessing the files for "non-policing purposes".
His case called at Aberdeen Sheriff Court yesterday.
No plea was lodged in court for Mr Knowles.
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