Property held in police care 'went astray'

WEST MIDLANDS police are investigating allegations that detectives were involved in the disappearance of thousands of pounds worth of electrical goods held in police stores after being recovered as stolen property.

The investigation, which is being supervised by the Police Complaints Authority, stems from an audit of lost and stolen property in a Birmingham suburban division of the force, which suggested that about pounds 20,000 worth of video recorders, camcorders and similar equipment had gone missing.

The latest controversy to hit the West Midlands Police follows another internal audit that discovered that civilian staff had allegedly stolen money which had been recovered from corpses; a number have been disciplined. The audit report also criticised the supervision of lost property as 'inadequate'.

The second audit was ordered after a man who had been acquitted of stealing a tumble-dryer was told, when he went to ask for its return, that it had disappeared from the stores at Acocks Green police station in Birmingham. The machine reappeared a few days later, allegedly having been used. An officer has been suspended in connection with the allegation.

Among the other incidents examined by the audit was a burglary of a Currys store in Coventry in October last year when more than pounds 170,000 worth of electrical goods such as camcorders, computers, video recorders and televisions were stolen.

After internal inquiries began, the property was returned to the force stores; sources say that it appeared to have been used during the time it was absent.

A spokeswoman for Currys confirmed yesterday that the police had initially told them that all the property had been recovered. 'Then we were told that not all of the property had been recovered and some of it was believed to have found its way into the hands of their own employees,' she said. She added that all the property had been returned to Currys. 'It is now a matter entirely for the police.'

Superintendent David Claydon, spokesman for the West Midlands Police, said the inquiry was under way and a report would be sent to the Crown Prosecution Service.

He said 'a small number of officers were under investigation' but none had been suspended as a result of the Currys affair. He added: 'Clearly we are very concerned about this. If any officer or civilian member of staff is found to have acted improperly, they will face criminal or disciplinary proceedings.'