Doughnut fraud may lead to Police Officers dismissal

A police officer is currently standing on the wrong side of the law after allegedly trying to buy a £9.95 box of 12 Krispy Kreme doughnuts for just seven pence... by sticking a barcode for carrots on them and heading through a self-service checkout.

 

PC Simon Read is facing a misconduct hearing over the alleged incident at Tesco Extra in Cambridgeshire. Papers say his alleged breach of professional standards is "so serious that dismissal would be justified". The hearing is being held in public however Covid-19 restrictions dictate that members of the public and media are prevented from attending in person.

 

The Cambridgeshire Police Force alleges that on the 10th of February, while in police uniform and on duty, PC Read went shopping at Tesco Extra in Wisbech. The Force stated, "You selected a cardboard tray containing 12 Krispy Kreme doughnuts that was priced at £9.95. The doughnut tray had a price barcode on it. You then went to the fruit and vegetable area where you used the self-service scales to obtain a self-adhesive barcode price label for carrots with a price of 7p."

 

The Force claims that PC Read "stuck the price label for the carrots on to the doughnut tray. At the self-service checkout counter, you intentionally scanned the barcode for the carrots instead of the bar code for the doughnuts with the result that you were charged £0.07 for the doughnuts."

 

PC Read is accused of discreditable conduct. His alleged behaviour brought "discredit upon the police service and undermines confidence in it". The force alleges that, "a reasonable member of the public, aware of all the facts, would be justifiably appalled that a police officer had acted dishonestly and without integrity". The force claimed that PC Read "breached the standard of professional behaviour because you acted dishonestly and without integrity by knowingly paying £0.07 for 12 doughnuts when you knew that you should have paid £9.95".

 

He has been "advised" by Cambridgeshire Police that his behaviour is "such that your breach of the standards of professional behaviour is so serious that dismissal would be justified and consequently it amounts to gross misconduct". 

 

 

The Johnson Partnership

Nottingham Solicitors