Former Calgary police officer charged with breach of trust, misuse of computer databases

A former Calgary police officer faces criminal charges stemming from the alleged misuse of an internal computer system to pursue personal relationships with women he first encountered on police-related matters. 

The Calgary Police Service said on Wednesday that Brett Singer, 51, is charged with one count of breach of trust and one count of misuse of a computer system.

It's alleged that between 2008 and 2023, Singer used police databases to find and pursue further contact with numerous women with whom he had initial contact through calls for service.

Singer was suspended with pay in January of this year following an initial complaint from several women in July 2023. He was later suspended without pay.

During the course of the investigation, police found additional women who were inappropriately contacted by Singer. CPS said a total of 10 people experienced similar behaviour.

The 16-year veteran officer resigned from the force shortly after his suspension without pay, and it's believed he has since left the country, police said.

As a result, the charges against Singer have been laid as a Canada-wide warrant.

At a news conference on Wednesday, police Chief Mark Neufeld said CPS is disgusted by the charges against Singer and that his alleged actions do not reflect the values of police in Calgary.

"These allegations represent an egregious breach of trust by someone holding a position of authority in our community, in this case, a police officer, and worse, a member of the Calgary Police Service with a sworn duty to protect citizens," Neufeld said.

Katherine Murphy, executive director of legal services for CPS, said at the news conference the police service issues significant penalties for data breaches, even those that are nowhere close to as egregious as the allegations against Singer.

"We want to send a very strong message to Calgarians, and also to our police service members, that there's just zero tolerance for accessing our systems in a way for any kind of personal use that's not directly related to their police duties," Murphy said.

The police chief added charges like these against a police officer undermine the trust and confidence that the public places in law enforcement and said it was demoralizing.

"This was not an officer that we had complaints of earlier on in his career," Neufeld said. "As soon as we became aware of this type of behaviour, which was August of last year, we immediately initiated the investigation and took serious steps."

He added there's a chance that other women may have experienced similar behaviour from Singer, and encouraged anyone who has had inappropriate contact with a police officer to come forward.

"You gotta be able to trust the police, and especially in your moment of need or vulnerability," Neufeld said. "If you can't trust a police officer, then we're all in trouble.… If you're wearing this uniform and this crest, we expect you to be professional and to be there for people in those times of need."

The police chief also said when charges are laid against an officer, CPS reviews its recruiting process to try to find out if there was anything that was missed that they can learn from.

"We're in the midst of doing that review currently," Neufeld said. "So there's nothing right now that we can actually point to that is a single thing that we missed."