2 Met Officers Jailed

8 November 2012, 18:34 | Updated: 8 November 2012, 18:53

Two Met police officers have been jailed after they were caught stealing during a sting operation.

46 year old Police constable Ian Scouler, and his colleague Pc Kenneth Potter, who is 30, came to the attention of their Metropolitan Police bosses after the force received complaints in 2010 and 2011 that money and property had vanished during searches of their properties.

Scotland Yard's Anti-Corruption Command launched an investigation after receiving the complaints which included claims of the officers taking suspects' belongings during stop searches.

Police fitted covert cameras in a house that the pair, who were based in the Disruption Unit at Plumstead Police Station, Greenwich, were due to search.

During the search, Scouler stole £400 and Potter stole £4 in cash from the property.

The investigation identified that in August 2010, Potter was using a mobile phone stolen from a south east London address in July 2010.

Potter and Scouler were part of the team that searched that address.

They were both arrested on October 12 last year and suspended from duty.

They were subsequently charged in January and six months later Potter's formal request to resign was accepted.

Scouler remained suspended up until his trial but will now face a formal misconduct panel.