Former Dorset Police employee jailed for stealing cash from property store

A former Dorset Police employee has been jailed today (25 January 2023) at Bournemouth Crown Court for stealing cash from the force’s property store.

Lisa Arnold, 52 and from Swanage, admitted taking £14,494.20 in cash from evidence bags that she tampered with and resealed with Sellotape over a four-year period between 2018 and 2022.

She was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.

When it became apparent that cash had been taken from the property store, the police investigation identified Arnold as a suspect having found that she was paying large amounts of money off outstanding credit card balances, amounts far beyond her monthly salary.

When police searched Arnold’s home, they found 15 bundles of cash stashed in a carrier bag that was hidden in her wardrobe, as well as two sets of keys that enabled her to gain entry to the property store’s safe. One set of keys was allocated to her, but the other set was a spare that she had taken from the key safe, enabling her to gain entry without following the proper processes.

Sophie Stevens, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor, said: “The public rightly expects anyone working for the police to work with honesty and integrity. Whenever there is a breach of that trust, it is disappointing and damaging to public confidence.

“Whenever our legal test is met, we will ensure that anyone committing a criminal offence is brought to justice. The public can be confident that whether it be a member of police staff, or anyone else, we will make sure that cases are prosecuted, and offenders face the consequences of their actions.”