Snooping earns a lifetime bar

A member of the National Gendarmerie in France has lost his appeal to the Court of Appeal in Chambéry. The unnamed gendarme was found to have consulted others' criminal records for personal purposes. The appellate court sentenced him to be barred for life from service in the Gendarmerie and to a four-month suspended prison term. Excerpt from this account (en Français):

As reported by L'Essor de la Gendarmerie Nationale on January 19, the man was referred to justice for "misuse of the purpose of processing personal data" and "unauthorized communication with a detainee by a person located outside the establishment." The former mobile gendarme, based in Haute-Savoie, had also been sanctioned at first instance for having discussed with his brother imprisoned in Albi, thanks to the WhatsApp application. Sentenced for the first time to be barred for life from the National Gendarmerie and four months suspended prison sentence, the soldier had only wanted to appeal the final striking-off, describing his job as a gendarme as a passion.

The Gendarmerie is a branch of the French Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior, with additional duties from the Ministry of Armed Forces.