Former Dorset Police staff member jailed for stealing £15,000 from evidence bags

A former member of Dorset Police has been jailed for stealing £15,000 in cash from evidence bags.

Lisa Arnold, 52, tampered with evidence bags that were being stored, and bags where the cash had not been counted yet.

Concerns were first raised in June 2020 with the Force’s Counter Corruption Unit, after reports an evidence bag had been tampered with.

Officers then went on to find that other evidence bags held in storage had also been compromised.Financial checks and records of who gained access to the property store pointed to Ms Arnold as the suspect.

She was arrested in March 2022 and a search of her home address led to £15,000 in cash being seized.Ms Arnold was suspended from work and formally resigned from Dorset Police in May 2022.

She pleaded guilty to theft and was sentenced at Bournemouth Crown Court on Wednesday 25 January 2023.

Dorset Police Deputy Chief Constable Sam de Reya said: “I hope that this investigation demonstrates that we will robustly investigate suspected wrongdoing by members of our organisation and undertake swift action.“Our officers and members of staff are expected to execute their duties with integrity. On this occasion, a staff member has fallen short of those standards and been found guilty of a criminal offence.

"We will pursue and deal with those who seek to undermine the trust that is placed in us by the public and let down colleagues and the police service."

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