Fulfilled Police officer jailed for stealing £1,500 from safe and sound at London law enforcement station to pay back off money owed

A disgraced Metropolitan Law enforcement officer who stole £1,500 from a safe and sound at an east London law enforcement HQ has been jailed. 

Bradley Francis ‘threw absent his career’ when he chose to have out the criminal offense at Stoke Newington police station in April. 

The ‘desperate’ 35-year-aged applied the £1,500 to pay back off credit history card debts. But he resigned as a law enforcement constable after his actions ended up uncovered by colleagues. 

He gave no response as Decide Martin Griffith, sentencing at London’s Southwark Crown Court docket, now explained to him no officer should ‘consider themselves previously mentioned the law’ as he jailed him for 10 months.

Francis experienced dropped his occupation, marriage and property for a ‘ridiculous’ theft at a time when his family members would have stepped in to assistance him pay a credit card financial debt.

He was experiencing a law enforcement misconduct listening to before he resigned as a police officer previously this yr. 

The choose also advised him: ‘The general public have to have self confidence that the law enforcement will use the regulation to them selves and not think about by themselves above the law.

‘The public should have complete faith and trust in their police officers and that is very suitable, I’m afraid you have enable that down.’

Bradley Francis was a serving law enforcement officer with the Satisfied when he stole £1,500 from a protected at Stoke Newington police station in East London

Francis (pictured appropriate) ‘threw away his career’ when he selected to have out the criminal offense in April, a judge has explained. He is pictured arriving at Southwark Crown Courtroom nowadays

Francis stood quietly in the dock as the judge advised him: ‘It is a fantastic shame you threw absent the vocation you loved, your superior character, your relationship and all that due to the fact you chose a ridiculous way out (of) your economic affairs.’

Francis, of Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, experienced pleaded responsible to theft by personnel immediately after stealing roughly £1,500 from a risk-free at Stoke Newington police station on April 12 whilst he was a serving officer.

CCTV footage confirmed Francis paying a ‘rather extensive time’ at the risk-free and covering his steps with a fleece prior to locking the protected and shifting away from it, prosecutor Gregor McKinley explained.

The cash was public money which was part of an ongoing intent-to-provide investigation.

He experienced put £50 in to the risk-free but that experienced been just a ‘pretext’ to empower him to get the keys and see what was within, the prosecution reported.

In just 30 minutes of the theft Francis experienced paid off a £1,500 credit score card bill, but by this time he experienced previously breached a substantial degree of believe in and duty through his criminal offense, which took ‘some diploma of planning’, Mr McKinley stated.

The only individual who experienced access to that safe and sound at that time was Francis.

Inventory Newington law enforcement station, in East London, wherever Francis stole the £1,500 from a protected in the building

The courtroom listened to Francis (correct), 35, carried out the ‘ridiculous’ criminal offense in April to pay off credit history card money owed. He is pictured arriving at Southwark Crown Court docket on Monday

The judge instructed Francis that his ‘pride’ experienced stopped him from inquiring for aid from his father, who was ready to obtain him get the job done at the spouse and children agency when he will get out of jail, which could have aided him to stay clear of prison.

John Greany, defending, said: ‘Ultimately this was a silly and determined act by an officer who till then was a really excellent 1.

‘He has been counseled, and a variety of colleagues have composed about his constructive excellent character and the contribution he has produced to the wider modern society right before this stupid act.

‘You would also have gathered from the pre-sentence report that it wasn’t an offending enthusiastic by greed, it was not a circumstance exactly where this gentleman was attempting to reside the higher lifetime, he was behind on credit score card payments and what he did right away was to settle his credit history card credit card debt.

‘I never want to go via good detail the character experiences, but the headlines from our perspective are he was a perfectly-regarded officer beforehand, that he has lost his law enforcement career his earlier excellent character, his marriage, and his great identify.

‘He has demonstrated a degree of insight and remorse that will let your honour in mild of his plea and other mitigations a suspended sentence, there are quite very good strategies of rehabilitation and employment in his relatives business.

‘I believe 1 of the tragedies is he could have absent to his spouse and children, and they would’ve been receptive, if he had only cried for enable, but his pride received in the way, and he felt he experienced no solution.

‘It’s a daily life that has been effectively turned upside down currently, but he could go on to perform and compensate this and make anything of his existence.’

Decide Martin Griffith informed the shamed officer: ‘I’m concerned rapid punishment can only be performed by custodial sentence, any person who reads this would consider oh nicely he’s been allow off mainly because he is a policeman.

‘It’s a terrific shame to see an individual like you standing in the dock in entrance of me

‘You created up a tale about a £50 notice which would give you entry to the protected, you experienced no notion what would be in there, but it was a opportunity you located the £1,500.

‘It is doubly sad that from what I’ve study about you, your father your bother and other prolonged users of the relatives would have assisted you.

‘Your father’s heading to give you a occupation when I’m concluded with you and so if only you hadn’t had a make any difference of pleasure that you ended up likely to request them and in its place of which you were likely to steal from a police safe and sound where by you observed £1,500, you wouldn’t be standing in this article right now a uncomplicated as that.’ 

Francis, of Bishop’s Stortford, Herts, admitted theft by employee.

He was jailed for 10 months and presented 3 months to pay back the £1,500.