Last year, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation came under fire for some ghastly practices. Agents frequently twisted evidence and used hoakum science in order to win convictions. For more information on this, check out the News & Observer's excellent series from last summer.
Now the SBI's under fire again. Turns out two senior agency officials improperly used the state and federal criminal database, known as the Department of Criminal Information (DCI) network.
Jerry Ratley, the former assistant director who oversaw the network, used it to snoop on his ex-wife, her co-workers, her husband, the wife of an SBI agent and others, records reviewed by The News & Observer show.Wendy Brinkley, who is directly responsible for policing and maintaining the network, used it to track her stepson's case in the courts, the records show.
How serious is this? Federal and state law both state in no uncertain terms that the network is not for personal use. Police officers and sheriff's deputies caught misusing this information can be brought up on criminal charges.