Police officer who faked working from home banned

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 policing.

PC Liam Reakes, who was based in Yeovil, was found to have committed gross misconduct at an Avon and Somerset Police panel hearing earlier.

The 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 time.

He 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 jobs.

He 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."

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