Policeman sacked after underpaying for Jaffa Cakes at charity stand

15 October 2021, 10:02 | Updated: 15 October 2021, 10:08

By Heart

@thisisheart

A PC has lost his job after allegedly paying 10p for two packets of Jaffa Cakes.

A police officer has been sacked after allegedly failing to pay the correct price for two packets of Jaffa Cakes at a charity sale.

PC Chris Dwyer, 51, paid 10p for the snacks, which were being sold at the Halifax police station tuck shop back in January 2021.

He claimed to have paid the correct amount of £1 when asked by a colleague, according to reports.

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West Yorkshire Police claims a female officer emptied the cash tin on January 21 at around 10.00pm, where there was £1 left in the float.

PC Dwyer allegedly took two packets of Jaffa Cakes around half an hour later, paying 10p for them.

A spokesman 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.”

The cakes were on sale as part of a charity stand to raise money for a trip to Uganda.

At a misconduct trial, Dwyer allegedly tried to ‘change and embellish’ his story, claiming to not have known what coins he had donated, Metro.co.uk reports.

PC Dwyer initially said he put in five 20p coins, before saying he couldn’t remember the exact amount of money.

The officer, who joined West Yorkshire Police in 2017, denied breaching police standards and added any underpayment was a ‘genuine mistake’.

Following a four day hearing, the police officer was given an instant dismissal after being found guilty of gross misconduct.

The panel found his evidence was 'evasive and an attempt to reduce his culpability'.

Panel chairman Akbar Khan said: “The officer is solely to blame for his own conduct, which was dishonest and of a criminal nature.

“The nature of his dishonesty related to underpaying for items which proceeds were to support a charity to which he was fully aware.”

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Detective Superintendent Mark Long, of West Yorkshire Police’s Professional Standards Directorate, also called Dwyer ‘dishonest’, adding 'integrity is a fundamental quality of being a police employee'.

He said: “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.”