Police Officer Sacked After Underpaying For Jaffa Cakes
Published
A police officer has been sacked after failing to pay full price for a pack of Jaffa Cakes.
The Jaffa Cakes in question were a two-pack being sold at the Halifax police station tuck shop. The suspect was PC Chris Dwyer, aged 51.
Dwyer reportedly lied to a colleague about paying the correct amount for the Jaffa Cakes, when in fact, he only paid a tiny fraction of the price.
Furthermore, the snacks had been on sale as part of a charity stand to raise money for a trip to Uganda.
According to the misconduct trial, when questioned by his fellow officer, Dwyer allegedly tried to ‘change and embellish’ his tale, by claiming to not have known what coins he had left in his possession at the time, Metro reports.
The Jaffa Cakes had been on sale for 50p a packet, totalling £1 for his purchase, however, Dwyer allegedly only paid 10p.
The charity shop cash tin was emptied on January 21 at around 10.00pm by a female officer, with £1 left in the float in change, West Yorkshire Police reported.
However, it was half an hour later when Dwyer made his wrongful purchase and not enough money was added to the tin.
A spokesperson said: ‘The cash tin was checked and it was found to contain the same denominations of coins in the cash tin but with an extra 2 x 5p coins.’
Dwyer said the incident was a ‘genuine mistake’, despite at first stating that five 20p pieces were placed into the tin. In hindsight, he reflected that he could not remember the ‘exact denomination’.
Yesterday, Thursday, October 14, after a four-day hearing found him guilty of gross misconduct, Dwyer was instantly dismissed.
His actions were noted as being an ‘abuse of trust’ and having ‘discredit[ed] […] the police and the service’, by panel chairman Akbar Khan. Khan also called the officer’s conduct as ‘dishonest and of a criminal nature’.
DS Mark Long of West Yorkshire Police’s Professional Standards Directorate stated:
This officer’s actions do not fit with the values of the organisation and he has been dishonest when challenged.
It is accepted that the items involved were of a very low value but honesty and integrity is a fundamental quality of being a police employee.
An independent legally qualified chair has found that his breach of the Standards of Professional Behaviour constituted gross misconduct and he has been dismissed from the Force.
Dwyer joined the West Yorkshire police in 2017, after spending almost 25 years in the navy.
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