A Met police 999 emergency call centre supervisor, who lives in Stevenage, illegally looked-up confidential police reports of a fatal stabbing, a London court heard yesterday.

Charlotte Servais, 33, of Stephenson Mews, was visiting her mother, who lives just half a mile from the attack, when it occurred.

Her brother was later arrested in connection with it but then released without charge.

Servais admits accessing the Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) reports when she returned to work the next day, even though the police investigation was not in her working area.

However, she has pleaded not guilty to performing an unauthorised computer function between April 16 and 22, 2020, at the Metropolitan Police’s Central Communication Command in Peel Centre in Hendon - namely looking at information relating to a stabbing.

Southwark Crown Court heard she originally started working at the 999 centre in October 2013.

On April 15, 2020, she was visiting her mother’s home in Sunnymead Road, Roehampton.

The same day, self-employed painter and decorator Ralph Gibson, 42, was stabbed in the back twice in nearby Huntingfield Road and died on April 24.

Servais, who has also been a Special Constable since January 2011, and holds a Batchelor of Science in Criminology from the University of Roehampton, looked-up the relevant CAD reports twelve times over the next four days.

Her brother was later arrested by police, who searched the mother’s home on July 23, but he was released without charge. Two other men were later prosecuted at Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court in relation to the killing.

Prosecutor Paul Casey told the jury that Servais was employed by the Metropolitan Police as a civilian member of police staff at the Met’s Central Communication Command (MCC).

“The MCC handles emergency and non-emergency calls from the public and other agencies and despatches police units across London,” he said.

Servais only has responsibility for north, central and west London and not south London, where the stabbing occurred, the trial was told.

“People who do these jobs are placed in a considerable position of trust,” said Mr Casey.

“She had a high degree of responsibility in fast moving potentially life-threatening incidents.”

After the stabbing an air ambulance rushed to Mr Gibson’s aid along with a specialist trauma team and he was helicoptered to King’s College Hospital and placed into an induced coma.

The Met’s Major Investigation Team launched an inquiry.

The court was told that in the aftermath of the incident Servais logged-in and read four CAD reports relating to the investigation.

“There needs to be some reason in a professional role that justified access to the CAD system,” said Mr Casey.

“Simply browsing and looking out of nosiness or curiosity is prohibited.

“She looked at them over a number of days. There was no policing purpose to justify her looking at these reports.”

In October 2020, Servais was told she was under investigation and was questioned in May, 2021.

Mr Casey told the court : “She freely admitted viewing the CAD records and accepted she was wrong to do so, but will be saying in this trial: ‘At the time I did not know that.’

“She told officers she was not aware of the exact details and looked at the CAD reports the next day out of curiosity.

“She said she was not aware of anything involving her brother until July 23, when the police searched her brother’s bedroom.

“She was apologetic and said her actions were careless.

“The prosecution do not accept it was simply coincidence Servais accessed these four CAD reports of a fatal stabbing that had a connection with her brother.

“We do not say she provided any evidence of that stabbing to any other person.”

The trial continues.