‘Dishonest’ police officer failed to pay Humber Bridge tolls 99 times while off duty

EXCLUSIVE

By Angus Young

A police officer acted dishonestly by repeatedly failing to pay Humber Bridge toll charges, a misconduct panel has ruled.

Automatic TAG passes are issued to some Humberside Police officers allowing them to cross the bridge without paying tolls if they are on duty.

However, a misconduct hearing in Goole was told the female officer – a constable at the time – used the bridge’s TAG lane 99 times while off-duty over a near five-year period without paying.

Overall, she failed to pay £313.65 in toll charges.

Under force policy, officers are required to pay for any TAG crossings undertaken in their own personal time.

Olivia Checa-Dover, a barrister representing Humberside Police, said: “The policy is a system run on trust and officers understand that. The onus is on them to make a payment when not on duty just like any other member of the public, albeit at a slight discount.”

She said using the TAG system for personal use without paying for it amounted to an act of dishonesty.

“A failure to act with integrity and honesty greatly damages public confidence in the police,” she added.

When quizzed about the issue, she said the officer claimed she had “forgotten” to pay the toll charges.

“She stated that an abusive relationship for some of this period had affected her ability to process things.”

However, Miss Checa-Dover said the officer had also managed to correctly pay for 27 other off-duty crossings during the same period between late 2018 and January this year.

“An analogy would be a member of the public repeatedly leaving a cafe without paying the bill – five, ten or 99 times – and saying they forgot to pay because they were having a difficult time. It just doesn’t stack up.

“Many members of the public already think there is one rule for us (the police) and one rule for them. This type of activity does not help that view.

“The officer knew she was not allowed to use the TAG for her personal gain.”

The panel found the officer had breached professional police standards by her behaviour and said her actions amounted to gross misconduct.

Chairman Mark Fletcher said: “We find both a lack of integrity and dishonesty has been proved.

“We also consider this is a case where dismissal for gross misconduct would have been justified had the officer still been serving.”

Earlier, the hearing was told the officer had recently resigned from the force after serving for five years.

She did not attend the hearing having previously stated she did not want to be legally represented.

Mr Fletcher granted a written request from her to remain anonymous after she said making her name public would have a serious impact on her health.