Police officer sacked after using WFH hack to trick bosses into thinking she was solving crimes
A police officer who spent her work-from-home days weighing down her keyboard with a picture frame has been sacked for pretending to be doing something useful.
The officer, referred to as Sergeant X by Avon and Somerset Police, has been barred from working in any UK law enforcement agencies.
Her keystrokes were identified as ‘significantly high’ in 2024 by the force’s Professional Standards Department.
An investigation was opened, and it was discovered the majority of shifts she worked had between three to eight times higher keystroke count than her colleagues in a similar role.
She admitted to using the corner of a picture frame to weight down her keyboard so her laptop would not go into ‘sleep mode’ while going through challenges in her personal life.
Sign up for all of the latest stories
Start your day informed with Metro's News Updates newsletter or get Breaking News alerts the moment it happens.
Assistant Chief Constable Craig Holden, chair of the misconduct panel, said her actions amounted to gross misconduct.
Det Supt Larisa Hunt, the head of Avon and Somerset Police’s Professional Standards Department, said: ‘It is extremely disappointing an officer has behaved in a way which could not only discredit the police force, but also undermine the public confidence in respect of our duties and responsibilities.
‘We know officers and staff deal with immense pressure and high workloads, and while Sgt X had some mitigating circumstances, it’s unacceptable for an officer to act in this deliberate and deceitful way by abusing the trust placed in her, by making it appear she was working when she was not.
‘We recognise the overwhelming majority of our officers and staff work hard to protect the public.’
Sergeant X is hardly the first police officer to be caught pretending to be working while from home.
Detective Constable Niall Thubron, 33, from Durham Police was found to be ‘key jamming’ in September.
He intended to ‘give the impression’ that he was ‘completing tasks’ while ‘working from home’, it was alleged.
He would have been sacked for gross misconduct had he not already resigned.
In June, PC Liam Reakes clocked up more than 100 fake hours by weighing down the Z key on his keyboard.
He is thought to have typed out just shy of 11 million Zs while pretending to be working from home. He also quit before he was sacked.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.