Former West Yorkshire officer charged following investigation into police corruption

A former West Yorkshire Police officer will appear in court this week following an Independent Office for Police Conduct directed investigation into allegations of failure to investigate a road traffic incident, theft and misuse of police systems to access restricted information.

Former Police Constable Michael Meade, aged 41, who was stationed at Halifax police station prior to his resignation from the force, is facing charges of:

• conspiracy to pervert the course of justice
• theft
• unauthorised access to policing systems contrary to the Computer Misuse Act 1990

The charges relate to offences allegedly committed between January 2022 and May 2023.

He is due to appear at Bradford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday 3 June 2026.

An investigation was carried out by West Yorkshire Police Counter Corruption Unit under the IOPC’s direction after we received a referral from the force in October 2023. At the conclusion of the investigation in October 2025, we referred a file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service, which authorised the charges against the former officer.