A former member of Dorset Police staff has been sentenced to two years in prison for theft of cash from the Force.
The sentencing of Lisa Arnold, 52, took place at Bournemouth Crown Court on Wednesday 25 January 2023. She had previously pleaded guilty to the offence on Wednesday 7 December 2022 at Weymouth Magistrates’ Court.
Concerns were first raised in June 2020 with the Force’s Counter Corruption Unit, reporting that an exhibit bag containing cash had been tampered with. Subsequently, further incidents were identified involving exhibit bags containing cash that had not been counted yet for evidential reasons. The completion of proactive audits of a property store revealed further tampered items.
An investigation was undertaken by the Counter Corruption Unit to identify the individual involved, including financial checks and the inspection of access records to the relevant store areas. This led to Lisa Arnold being identified as the suspect. She was arrested in March 2022 and a search of her home address led to £15,000 in cash being seized.
Following the arrest, Arnold was immediately suspended from work and formally resigned from Dorset Police in May 2022.
Dorset Police Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Reya said: “I hope that this investigation demonstrates that we will robustly investigate suspected wrongdoing by members of our organisation and undertake swift action.
“Our officers and members of staff are expected to execute their duties with integrity. On this occasion a staff member has fallen short of those standards and been found guilty of a criminal offence. We will pursue and deal with those who seek to undermine the trust that is placed in us by the public and let down colleagues and the police service.”