British police officer sacked after using work from home hack to trick bosses into thinking she was solving crimes

A police sergeant who weighed down her keyboard with a picture frame to appear active while working from home has been dismissed for gross misconduct and barred from serving in any UK law enforcement agency.

The officer, referred to as Sergeant X by Avon and Somerset Police, was flagged in 2024 after the force’s Professional Standards Department identified her keystroke activity as “significantly high.”

An internal investigation found that during most of her shifts, her recorded keystrokes were between three to eight times higher than colleagues in similar roles. She later admitted that she had used the corner of a picture frame to press down keys on her keyboard so her laptop would not go into “sleep mode,” while she dealt with personal challenges away from her workstation.

Assistant Chief Constable Craig Holden, who chaired the misconduct panel, concluded that her actions amounted to gross misconduct. Det Supt Larisa Hunt, head of the force’s Professional Standards Department, said the behaviour risked damaging public confidence.

“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,” she said.

“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.”

She added that the overwhelming majority of officers and staff work hard to protect the public. Sergeant X is not the first UK officer to face disciplinary action for faking remote work. Last year, Detective Constable Niall Thubron of Durham Police was found to have engaged in “key jamming” to create the impression he was completing tasks while working from home. He resigned before dismissal proceedings concluded.

In another case, PC Liam Reakes reportedly accumulated more than 100 fake work hours by weighing down the “Z” key on his keyboard, allegedly typing nearly 11 million Zs while appearing active. He also resigned before being formally dismissed.

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