Latest news with #DetSuptLarisaHunt
The Sun
09-06-2025
- The Sun
‘Deceptive' cop who weighed down laptop keys to make it look like he was working barred from policing
A COP who weighed down laptop keys to make it look like he was working from home was barred from policing. PC Liam Reakes's actions cost his force more than 100 hours. 2 Concerns were raised about his efforts before a September 2024 audit of keystrokes flagged his total as much higher than others doing similar jobs. Reakes would have been sacked had he not quit in Yeovil, Somerset. A panel found he committed gross misconduct. Reakes did not attend the hearing. He admitted opening a blank Word document and holding down the Z key for long periods. He denyied this was to give a false impression he was working from home. Det Supt Larisa Hunt said: 'PC Reakes was the subject of an action plan and was allocated a tutor due to concerns over his performance prior to the keyboard audit being carried out. 'The use of any device or system to replicate keyboard activity is wholly wrong and deceptive and the public will be rightly outraged at this behaviour. 'Not only has he let down those he made a commitment to serve and protect but he's also let down his colleagues, who are continuing to deal with significant pressure and workloads.' 2
Telegraph
09-06-2025
- Telegraph
Police officer held down laptop keys to pretend he was working
A police officer who worked from home weighted down his laptop keys to make it look as though he was working. Pc Liam Reakes's deception cost his force more than 100 hours of work time, a misconduct hearing was told. He has been barred from policing for life. His actions came to light after Avon and Somerset Constabulary carried out an audit of keystrokes, which flagged his total as 'significantly higher' than colleagues in similar roles. At an accelerated misconduct hearing on Monday, he was added to the national barred list, which will prevent him from working in policing or other law enforcement agencies again. The panel ruled that the officer, who served in Yeovil, had committed gross misconduct and would have been dismissed had he not resigned already. Craig Holden, the panel's chairman, was told the offending took place between June and September last year. It was heard that Pc Reakes 'held down keys at regular intervals'. He had been made the subject of an action plan and even been allocated a tutor to try and alleviate concerns about his performance before the audit took place. However, he continued to deceive superiors to 'make it appear as if he was working when he was not'. Det Supt Larisa Hunt, the head of the professional standards department, said: 'The use of any device or system to replicate keyboard activity is wholly wrong and deceptive and the public will be rightly outraged at this behaviour. 'Not only has he let down those he made a commitment to serve and protect, he's also let down his colleagues, who are continuing to deal with significant pressure and workloads. 'We're continually reminding line managers of their key responsibilities to hold regular check-ins, one-to-ones, and reviews, so the wellbeing and capacity of their staff can be properly monitored. 'It's also important for performance issues to be identified early and any necessary support or training put in place to help resolve them.' Crime rates soaring A Telegraph audit previously found police forces across the country are failing to get staff back into the office, despite crime rates soaring since the pandemic. In March, the Metropolitan Police was hit with its second bout of strike action by its workforce because of a dispute over work from home rules. Since 2021, many civilian staff have enjoyed generous hybrid working arrangements, with many departments struggling to enforce a return to pre-pandemic office attendance levels.
BBC News
09-06-2025
- BBC News
Somerset police officer banned after pretending to work from home
A police officer who held down keys on his laptop to make it look like he was working when he was not has been barred from Liam Reakes, who was based in Yeovil, was found to have committed gross misconduct at an Avon and Somerset Police panel hearing panel heard how, between June and September 2024, he weighed down his laptop's Z key at "regular intervals" for "considerable periods" of time, causing the loss of more than 100 hours' of police would have been sacked had he not already resigned from the force, and has now been banned from working in law enforcement again. Mr Reakes was caught after an internal audit of keystrokes in September 2024 flagged his total as much higher than others doing similar did not attend the hearing, but admitted opening a blank Word document and holding down the Z key for long periods of time, denying this was to give a false impression he was working from home. Head of the force's professional standards department Det Supt Larisa Hunt said: "PC Reakes was the subject of an action plan and was allocated a tutor due to concerns over his performance prior to the keyboard audit being carried out."The use of any device or system to replicate keyboard activity is wholly wrong and deceptive and the public will be rightly outraged at this behaviour. "Not only has he let down those he made a commitment to serve and protect but he's also let down his colleagues, who are continuing to deal with significant pressure and workloads."
BBC News
03-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
PC ran red light and caused serious Bristol crash
A police officer has avoided jail for causing a crash which left a member of the public with serious injuries, which she is still recovering from almost two years Daniel Fortune, of Avon and Somerset Police, drove through a red light at speed while responding to a 999 call in an unmarked police car on Bristol's A4 Portway on 6 September driver of the vehicle he crashed into was seriously injured and a passenger in Fortune's Volvo XC90 was also 41, admitted causing serious injury by dangerous driving and was sentenced to six months imprisonment, suspended for 18 months, at Gloucester Crown Court on Monday. The officer was also banned from driving for a Supt Larisa Hunt, head of Avon and Somerset Police's professional standards department, said: "The collision left a woman with very serious injuries from which she's still recovering and our thoughts are with her."Police officers are expected at all times to follow national and local guidance, and their training, when responding to emergency incidents."She added that an accelerated misconduct hearing would be held later this was charged following an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which then referred the case to the Crown Prosecution Service.
