Calgary Police Civilian Employee Charged in Privacy Breach

Police vehicles at Calgary Police Service headquarters in Calgary, on April 9, 2020. The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh

A civilian employee of the Calgary Police Service has been charged following an investigation into alleged unauthorized access of private records through police databases, the force says.

Police were first made aware in December 2025 of allegations that the employee had accessed protected information using police systems, CPS said in an April 9 statement. A subsequent investigation found the woman “was accessing police databases against policy and authorized use to seek information on individuals she has had, or sought to have, personal relationships with,” the statement said.

CPS employee Kayla Jessen was arrested on April 7 and faces nine charges under Alberta’s Protection of Privacy Act, including collecting, using, or disclosing personal information in contravention of the act, as well as gaining or attempting to gain unauthorized access to such information. She was released from custody and is scheduled to appear in court on June 2.

The alleged offences are said to have occurred between Feb. 1, 2025, and Aug. 1, 2025.

Officers executed a search warrant and seized Jessen’s mobile phone on March 4, police said. Investigators identified four victims whose personal information had been “targeted and intentionally searched.” The impacted individuals have been notified, police said.

Jessen had been a civilian employee of CPS for three years prior to her arrest and was on an “unrelated leave from the service pending review” at the time, police said. Civilian employees are non-sworn staff who support police operations in roles such as administration, records management, and analysis, and may have access to internal databases but do not have policing powers.

“We recognize that a breach of this nature shakes the foundation of trust that we have built with the public and our members,” said Insp. Dehl Vella of the CPS Professional Standards Section in a release. “Allegations such as these are taken very seriously, and we are committed to addressing this matter in a thorough and appropriate manner.”

In a separate case in Saskatchewan, former Regina Police Service (RPS) sergeant Robert Eric Semenchuck was sentenced on Feb. 6 to a conditional sentence of 729 days after pleading guilty to breach of trust and unauthorized use of a computer. A court found he used internal police databases to target 33 women for personal relationships between 2015 and 2023.

“It takes thousands of positive interactions to build trust and confidence, yet it takes only one wrongful act to diminish it, for the entire Service,” RPS Chief of Police Lorilee Davies said following the ruling.