Lisa Arnold jailed after stealing £14,000 from Dorset Police

[ad_1]

A police evidence officer who stole more than £14,000 from the force over a four-year period has been jailed.

Lisa Arnold, whose address is given as Benlease Way in Swanage, appeared at Bournemouth Crown Court on Wednesday 25 January for sentencing after admitting to storing thousands of pounds in cash in her wardrobe before depositing it into her bank account.

The 52-year-old had previously pleaded guilty to one count of ‘theft by employee’ – the charge related to 17 incidents between October 14, 2018 and March 19, 2022.

During that time, on 17 occasions, Arnold received a lump sum of £14,494.20 in cash from Dorset Police – which, in mitigation, it has been suggested she used to fuel her shopping addiction.

Arnold had worked for Dorset Police since 2016 before being transferred to the exhibits department in 2018. Her role as estate researcher saw her responsible for recording displays of seized items – which often involved cash in clear plastic envelopes.

Cash kept inside these envelopes was often “unaccounted” and marked as such.

In a police interview, Arnold said she would “go through countless cash items and open the envelope from the bottom” and then remove a stash of cash and “reseal the envelope with cellotape.”

Since many of the exhibits were not counted, these incidents went unnoticed “for a while”.

Arnold, who was supported in court by members of her family, was arrested after a “complex investigation” discovered that Arnold had been paying “large sums of money” into bank accounts.

On March 5th last year she was arrested at her home address and nearly £15,000 in cash was found stuffed in her wardrobe.

The court was told that Arnold was “taken in by a shopping addiction” at a time when she was going through a “significant drop in self-esteem” with her marriage “in some crisis”.

Christopher Bix, a mitigator, said Arnold had taken “proactive steps” to rehab and “committed to researching how to prevent reoffending.”

In a statement read out to the court, Dorset Chief Constable Scott Shelton said: “Every offense committed by a member of the police force has a devastating effect on the public confidence (in the police)”.

He added that the crime “is not a crime without victims.”

Honorary Judge Evans told Arnold that the offenses were “serious” and had “the additional harm” of creating a “loss of confidence” in the police.

She said there was a “realistic prospect of rehabilitation” but that the only appropriate punishment was immediate imprisonment and Arnold was sentenced to 24 months in prison.

Dorset Deputy Chief Constable Sam De Rhea said: “I hope this investigation makes clear that we will vigorously investigate suspected wrongdoing by members of our organization and take swift action.

“Our officers and members of staff are expected to carry out their duties with integrity. On this occasion, the employee failed to meet these standards and was found guilty of a criminal offence.

“We will prosecute and deal with those who seek to undermine the public’s trust in us and fail colleagues and the police force.”

Sophie Stevens, Deputy Chief Prosecutor, said: “The public rightfully expects anyone working for the police to act with honesty and integrity. When there is a breach of that trust, it is disappointing and damages public confidence.

“When our legal test is met, we will ensure that anyone who commits a criminal offense is brought to justice. The public can be confident that whether it is a member of the police or someone else, we will make sure that cases are prosecuted, and that offenders face consequences for their actions.”

[ad_2]