Doncaster prison worker jailed after searching and sharing prisoner information
Last updated 10th Jul 2026
A Doncaster prison worker who searched for and shared confidential information on prison inmates on internal systems has been jailed.
Courtney Harrison, who was a prison worker at HMP Moorland in Hatfield, Doncaster, pleaded guilty to misconduct in a public office and causing a computer to perform function to secure or enable unauthorised access to a program or data.
An investigation was launched after the prison received information suggesting a member of staff had been searching for individuals on the prison's system.
An in-depth examination of Harrison's searches was performed as part of the investigation, which highlighted she had searched prisoners multiple times on the system and passed this information onto a third party outsider.
In addition to this, Harrison was also found to have searched other prisoners who had never served sentences at HMP Moorland, including category A prisoners and high-profile offenders such as Lucy Letby, Harold Shipman and Rose West.
Harrison, 27, of Nelson Road, Doncaster, appeared before Sheffield Crown Court on Tuesday (7 July) where she was handed a sentence of 21 months.
Investigations Officer Tayla Waller, who is part of our Prison Anti-Corruption Unit and was the officer in charge of this case, said:
"A significant amount of evidence was collated as part of this investigation which highlighted the extensive searches Harrison made on prison systems which were clearly not for work purposes.
"The team also discovered numerous emails and evidence of calls made to a third party where Harrison had shared the highly sensitive information she had found to this person, and it was clear that the correspondence between the two had been ongoing for some time, showing the close relationship they had.
"As part of her role within the prison, Harrison had undertook various training consisting of online learning, security and GDPR, so she was clearly aware that what she was doing was a breach of data, despite claiming she had not received any training in relation to what she should and should not be looking at.
"Harrison had no work-related purpose to be searching for these individuals, and has clearly abused her position of authority bringing shame on the profession. Her behaviour was completely unacceptable, and people like Harrison who carry out this kind of criminality will be dealt with accordingly - we simply will not tolerate it and we will take action.
"I am pleased with the sentence that has been handed to Harrison and I hope this serves as a warning to others who may be looking to commit a similar crime."