Do you think this doesn't happen in private companies I know of a recent case where some one went down for or a major 10+ years stretch for conspiracy at British Telecom - passed address location to a hitman.
Google also has fired several people for this and in the US I bet a few people get fired every year for looking up Obama's tax records etc
well actually those people are not paid to spy on us its explicitly gross misconduct in the civil service just as it is in any the company that deals with peoples data.
its Tabloid Hacks and dodgy PI's that are paid to spy on us that are more worrying for civil society
Google also has fired several people for this and in the US I bet a few people get fired every year for looking up Obama's tax records etc