A former West Yorkshire Police trainee has been found guilty of gross misconduct after investigators determined that she had passed confidential information to her convicted criminal boyfriend while still serving on the force.
The tribunal concluded that Maryam Ilyas, 20, accessed internal police systems on multiple occasions between March and May 2025 to obtain details about the man, whose identity remains protected. Netizens have reacted with shock and frustration at the situation.
Highlights
- A 20-year-old trainee officer has been banned for life after accessing police systems for her boyfriend, who also happened to be a distributor of illicit substances.
- Investigators found messages, pictures of money, and incriminating chat sessions linking the two.
- A disciplinary panel ruled that she would have been fired for gross misconduct had she not resigned ahead of her disciplinary hearing.
Investigators uncovered messages linking the pair after her boyfriend was arrested
Image credits: Unsplash/ Ahmet Kurt
According to the BBC, Maryam Ilyas’s links to her criminal boyfriend emerged when the man was arrested in July on suspicion of dealing illicit substances.
Upon investigation, authorities recovered messages on his mobile phone linking the man to the 20-year-old trainee officer. These included chats referencing substance-related activity and images of a “large amount of money.”
Image credits: Facebook
According to the tribunal, Ilyas had used police computer systems to search for details about the man three times between March and May 2025. She later showed him his profile in police systems and shared confidential details about an ongoing operation.
The 20-year-old former trainee officer did not attend the hearing in Wakefield on Wednesday, though she admitted “full responsibility” for her misconduct.
Even though Ilyas resigned before the tribunal convened, the panel explicitly stated she would have been dismissed from the force had she still been employed.
Image credits: Unsplash/Hector Reyes
The tribunal also stated that the identity of Ilyas’ substance-dealing boyfriend would remain protected. The BBC and The Sun requested that the reporting restriction be lifted, but tribunal chair Catherine Hankinson rejected the application.
Hankinson stated that naming the man could “adversely” affect his “welfare.” As a result, it remains unclear what the man’s previous convictions involved.
The tribunal said Ilyas’s conduct was intentional, repeated, and tied to an undisclosed relationship
Image credits: Unsplash/Polina Kuzovkova
Ilyas joined West Yorkshire Police in June 2024, though during her recruitment, she did not disclose her relationship with the man.
Officers noted that during her interview, Ilyas claimed she had separated from him in January 2025 and was “unaware of his history.” Investigators later determined that this statement was false.
Image credits: Unsplash/ Kristina Shvedenko
Hankinson, who is also the force’s former deputy chief constable, concluded that the messages between Ilyas and the man suggested that they were in an “existing relationship” that continued through July 2025. The panel further described Ilyas’s conduct as “repeated,” “sustained,” and “intentional.”
Due to her actions, Ilyas has been banned from the force for life, according to the Daily Mail.
Image credits: Unsplash/Lana Cpdes
Numerous netizens shared their criticism of the police force, especially after a selfie taken by Ilyas was widely posted online. The selfie, which showed Ilyas in makeup while wearing her uniform, received polarizing reactions from netizens.
“They should have known by the way she was wearing her uniform,” one commenter wrote.
Image credits: Unsplash/Jonathan Borba
Others highlighted that the entire scenario seems to be a product of negligence. “If she was that ignorant of his criminal past, then she should definitely not be in the police force. What happened to testing their abilities or even common sense?” another netizen said.
Others also argued that Ilyas' punishment should have been worse. “Banned for life but not jailed? Send a tweet, you get 5 years!” a commenter stated.
Incidents of police misconduct have been rising in England and Wales in recent years
Image credits: BBC
A UK government report shows an uptick in police misconduct cases in recent years. During the year ending March 31, 2024, a total of 1,698 individuals were referred to formal misconduct proceedings.
This represented a year-over-year increase of 31% compared to the number of misconduct proceedings during the year ending March 31, 2023.
Image credits: Unsplash/ Felix Koutchinski
Of these misconduct proceedings, 1,312 were actual police officers like Ilyas, while the rest were police staff. For police officers, this represented a 35% year-over-year increase in misconduct proceedings.
From this number, 31% were referred to a misconduct hearing. A total of 74% of these officers who were referred to a hearing were found to have committed gross misconduct, similar to Ilyas.
Netizens shared their thoughts about the disgraced police officer’s case on social media
