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Police officer is fired after using common trick to pretend she was working from home
A UK police sergeant has been dismissed after attempting a surprisingly simple trick to make it look like she was hard at work while barely lifting a finger.
In an era where technology can track every mouse movement and keyboard tap, employers are often able to see exactly when someone steps away from their desk.
Even those working from home are not immune from digital oversight, with systems capable of flagging inactivity within minutes. But one officer believed she had found a loophole that would keep her status showing as active.
Her solution was not a sophisticated hack or clever software workaround. Instead, it involved nothing more than a picture frame and a laptop keyboard.
Police sergeant used picture frame to fake activity
The officer, referred to as Sergeant X during accelerated misconduct hearings this week, admitted she wedged the corner of a picture frame onto her keyboard to hold down keys continuously, as reported by BBC News.
The aim was to prevent her computer from going to sleep, which would have indicated she was not working.
At first glance, the method appeared to do the job. Her system remained active, suggesting she was online and typing away. But it did not take long for specialists at police headquarters to spot that something was not quite right.
IT experts quickly noticed that one officer had registered an unusually high number of keystrokes. In fact, the volume of activity was so extreme that it raised immediate red flags.
According to details presented at the hearing, Sergeant X’s keystrokes during April and May 2024 were between 300 and 800 percent higher than those of her colleagues.
The figures were so far outside the norm that they prompted scrutiny from her force’s professional standards department, which launched an investigation in June 2024.
Although the picture frame may have created the illusion of constant productivity, the data told a very different story.
Investigation uncovered months of deception
The hearing revealed that Sergeant X managed to slack off for much of April and May 2024 before her activity levels drew attention.
Once confronted with the evidence, she admitted to using the picture frame to artificially inflate her keyboard activity.
However, she also offered an explanation for her actions.
Sergeant X told the panel that she began using the tactic during a period of significant personal difficulty.
She said the setup allowed her to remain available to monitor urgent calls while handling other matters at the same time.
The panel did not disclose the nature of her personal circumstances. It was agreed she could retain anonymity following the hearing.
Despite her explanation, the misconduct panel concluded that her behavior amounted to gross misconduct.
The ruling not only ended her career with the force but also barred her from working with the police or any other law enforcement agency in the future.
Police force condemns “deliberate and deceitful” behavior
Det Supt Larisa Hunt, head of Avon and Somerset Police’s Professional Standards Department, addressed the outcome following the hearing.
She said: “It is extremely disappointing an officer has behaved in a way which could not only discredit the police force, but also undermine the public confidence in respect of our duties and responsibilities.
“We know officers and staff deal with immense pressure and high workloads, and while Sgt X had some mitigating circumstances, it’s unacceptable for an officer to act in this deliberate and deceitful way by abusing the trust placed in her, by making it appear she was working when she was not.
“We recognise the overwhelming majority of our officers and staff work hard to protect the public.”