GMP officer took work phone to Cash Converters before saying said he'd dropped it in canal

A former police officer has been given a suspended prison sentence for stealing a phone and tablet belonging to Greater Manchester Police and pawning them for cash.

Calum Power, 40, was issued with a Samsung S9 smartphone and a Samsung Galaxy Tab Active tablet for work purposes in May 2019.

In September 2021, PC Power placed the phone on a ‘buy back’ agreement with Cash Converters and signed a contract stating the item was owned by him.

In December 2021 he reported that he had lost the phone after it had fallen out of the pocket of his work trousers into the canal in Manchester City Centre.

Following further enquiries, it came to light that this was not the first occasion PC Power had placed this phone (worth £399) on a buy back agreement, along with the tablet (worth £300) which he had reported he had accidentally disposed of during a house move In August 2020.

Between October 2019 and September 2021, he had entered into a series of buy back agreements with Cash Converters; the phone on three occasions and the tablet on four occasions.

In June this year (on the day of his trial) Power pleaded guilty at Liverpool magistrates' court to two charges of theft in August 2020 and January 2021 and seven charges of fraud by false representation in relation to pawning the two devices.

He was given 34 week jail sentence, suspended for 18 months and ordered to do 200 hours unpaid work.

He was also ordered to pay £400 compensation to Greater Manchester Police, £400 Prosecution Costs and a £156 Victim Surcharge.

Jeremy Bird, Senior Crown Prosecutor for CPS North West, said: "As a serving police officer Calum Power was in a position of trust and therefore expected to adhere to the strictest standards of behaviour and professional conduct, but his dishonest actions fell far short of those standards.

"This case demonstrates that no one is above the law including those meant to uphold it.

"The CPS and police will continue to work together to robustly prosecute anyone who engages in criminal activity whilst in positions of trust in our society."

A spokesperson for GMP’s Professional Standards Branch said: "This was unacceptable behaviour – the potentially sensitive information which could have been stored on these devices would not have been accessible to a member of the public but, as GMP is a public sector organisation, PC Power didn’t just steal from the force, but from the communities we serve too.

"We are absolutely committed to ensuring those who are employed to fight crime are fit to do so.

"He will now be subject to misconduct proceedings."