Officers with one of Britain's largest police forces have been sacked for a range of data protection breaches, new figures show.
West Midlands Police said 30 staff, including detectives, were investigated for a string of information breaches since 2009.
Seven were dismissed without notice and resigned following accusations.
A further nine received management advice while five were handed final written warnings.
Breaches included misusing the police database and accessing confidential information.
The Herald reported at the weekend that dozens of Scottish police officers are under criminal investigation in a clampdown on data breaches involving the force computer system.
A total of 43 officers have been put on to restricted duties and another officer has been suspended, solely because of allegations of illegally accessing confidential information.
On the English cases, a Victim Support spokesman said it was "very worrying" that the personal data of victims of crime might be being accessed and used inappropriately by people in a position of trust.
Chief Inspector Deb Doyle, from the force's professional standards department, said allegations against officers or staff working for West Midlands Police are taken very seriously and are investigated thoroughly by the force's professional standards department.
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