In the Summary Court on Wednesday 14th April 2021, Miss Emma Jaffray pleaded guilty to two counts of theft. Miss Jaffray had been employed by the government on a years contract and when she tidied her desk, she had taken a notebook and a USB drive belonging to the government. These items were not empty, but contained sensitive information which wasn’t available to the public. The second count related to a time when Miss Jaffray had been working at the Customs and Immigration office and had removed a file.

Defence lawyer Miss Alison Inglis said that Miss Jaffray had taken the items thinking that they were blank and could be reused and she acknowledges that she should have checked. With regards to the file, Miss Jaffray accepts that there was no legitimate reason for her to have read the file. Miss Inglis said that her client had only been 19 at the time and simply did not grasp the seriousness of taking home government property.

Justices of the Peace said they would be considering a low level community order and requested a pre-sentence report to be compiled. Miss Jaffray was released on conditional bail and will return to court later in the month.

UPDATE

Emma Jaffray was sentenced in the Summary Court on Thursday 29th April after pleading guilty to two charges of theft.

Ms Alison Inglis acting on behalf of Miss Jaffray, said that her client, “accepts that she should not have removed the items” and that she pleaded guilty at the first opportunity. Ms Inglis went on to say  ”I would suggest this is a sign of her immaturity.”

Miss Jaffray was given a 6 month community order with supervision requirements as well as 50 hours of unpaid work.  She was also ordered to pay £150 costs.