Police officer sacked after underpaying for Jaffa Cakes at charity stall

PC Chris Dwyer was given an instant dismissal after a four-day misconduct hearing

PC Chris Dwyer paid 10p for the two packets of Jaffa Cakes (PA)

A police officer who took two packets of Jaffa Cakes from a police tuck shop without paying full price has been sacked.

PC Chris Dwyer paid 10p for the sponged-based sweet treats at a charity confectionary stall at Halifax police station on January 21 last year, as reported by the BBC.

But the actual price of the Jaffa Cakes at the stall - which was raising money for a charity trip to Uganda - was £1.

A police misconduct panel heard that the West Yorkshire police officer put money in the tin and removed two packets of the biscuit shaped cakes.

However a fellow officer found that the cash float in the tin where the money was deposited was only up by 10p.

When questioned about the disparity, PC Dwyer gave evidence that was “evasive and an attempt to reduce his culpability”, the misconduct panel found.

He at first claimed he put five 20p pieces into the tin but then later said he could not remember the exact amount of money he put in the tin.

PC Dwyer, who spent nearly 25 years in the navy before joining West Yorkshire police in 2017, said any underpayment was a “genuine mistake”.

But he was given an instant dismissal on Thursday after a four-day misconduct hearing found him guilty of gross misconduct.

Panel chairman Akbar Khan said: “The officer is solely to blame for his own conduct, which was dishonest and of a criminal nature.

“The nature of his dishonesty related to underpaying for items which proceeds were to support a charity to which he was fully aware.”

Detective Superintendent Mark Long, of West Yorkshire Police’s Professional Standards Directorate, said: “This officer’s actions do not fit with the values of the organisation and he has been dishonest when challenged.

“It is accepted that the items involved were of a very low value but honesty and integrity is a fundamental quality of being a police employee.

“An independent legally qualified chair has found that his breach of the Standards of Professional Behaviour constituted gross misconduct and he has been dismissed from the Force.”

Additional reporting by SWNS