Friday, February 27, 2026 - 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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