‘I was being a bit cheeky’: Police officer sacked after shoplifting from Sainsbury’s

‘I thought I would chance it,' constable told security after being stopped

Sainsbury’s, Winterstoke Road, Bristol (Google)

A police officer has been sacked and barred from the profession for life after being caught shoplifting £75 worth of food from a supermarket.

When the constable was stopped by security staff at the Sainsbury’s in Bristol, he told them: “I was being a bit cheeky and thought I would chance it".

The Avon and Somerset officer, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was dismissed after being found guilty of gross misconduct at a behind-closed-doors hearing.

He had already received a conditional caution for theft.

Chief Constable Andy Marsh said he fired the constable, known only as PC S, because the incident "demonstrated that [he] is not trustworthy".

In a written notice detailing the hearing, which was made public on Wednesday, Mr Marsh added: “This criminal conduct which PC S has fully admitted brings discredit upon the police service and is so serious as to undermine public confidence in policing.

“This breach of professional standards, indeed criminal conduct is so serious that dismissal would be justified and for this reason I have found it to be gross misconduct.”

The officer, who had completed 23 months of his probationary period, had placed 71 items in his shopping bags totalling £120.18 but scanned only 38 of them, paying just £45.14.

He was stopped as he left the store in the city’s Winterstoke Road, and made to return inside.

In mitigation, PC S said he was suffering financial problems and anxiety at the time.