Jailing the two men, Judge Saunders said : "Corrupt police officers do untold damage to the criminal justice system." The court heard that Fletcher, who joined the police in 1999, sought information at the request of the manager of a fashion store in Nottingham. Among the investigations about which he passed on details was that of the murder of Marian Bates, the jeweller shot dead in her shop in 2003.
The policeman was rewarded with discounts on clothes from the store. Another case for which Fletcher provided information was the double murder of John and Joan Stirland, who were killed at home in Trusthorpe, Lincolnshire, in 2004. The judge said that the information Fletcher provided was of limited value as he was already then under suspicion.
Fletcher also carried out intelligence checks on suspected criminals at their own request. Information about those people from anonymous sources was also given to them, the court heard. Parr, a former police constable, passed on details of a burglary suspect and did a background check on a woman on behalf of her partner, a suspected criminal.
Fletcher blamed his dishonesty on "greed, vanity and naivete". In a letter last year to his former colleagues, he wrote: "I do not expect any forgiveness for my actions and do not ask for it. I can only offer my deepest apologies in betraying your trust and confidence in me.
It's something I am immeasurably ashamed of and shall have to live with for the rest of my life." Paul Greasey, defending Parr, said his client had done a favour for a friend, rather than acted in the true spirit of corruption. "He stopped as soon as he realised the gravity of what he had done.
" Steve Green, the chief constable of Nottinghamshire, said last night that he felt "contempt and anger" for the two officers, both of whom have lost their jobs. He said he was angry that their "base and selfish behaviour" had damaged the reputation of the "fine, decent, hardworking, honourable people" who served with the Nottinghamshire police. "We have been let down and, more importantly, the people we serve have been let down.
Our integrity is our greatest asset ...
We never flinched in our duty to investigate our suspicions and in prosecuting those who betrayed our trust. Despite the shadow that has been cast over this force, there is much to be proud of. I must pay tribute to the professional standards unit, whose diligent work has secured these convictions.
" The assistant chief constable of Nottinghamshire, Ian Ackerley, said last night that the sentences would send a strong message to those in positions of trust. The force had suspected for some time that people within the organisation were feeding information to criminals and had set up a covert operation to discover the informants.
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