A police officer who admitted to knowingly avoiding paying prepare fares has been sacked for breaching requirements of “honesty and integrity” and “discreditable conduct”.
PC Luke Goddard, who joined the Met Police in 2000 and moved to Devon in 2003, had been on long run sick depart following an on-duty harm in 2019.
Throughout a house go to by a supervisor, Sergeant Edwards, in June 2024, he was requested whether or not the price of journey was a barrier to his full return to responsibility.
The officer disclosed that he solely paid the £34 fare between Axminster in Devon and Salisbury in Wiltshire “round half of the time” as ticket limitations have been open and workers allowed him to journey without spending a dime on manufacturing of a warrant card.
Mr Goddard, who legitimately used a concession for Metropolitan Law enforcement officials to journey so far as Salisbury, instructed the listening to that he didn’t imagine he had acted dishonestly when he relied on “the discretion” of prepare managers.
However the panel discovered he used his place as a police constable to “circumvent fee” between Wiltshire and Devon – two stations that he was not entitled to journey between with no legitimate ticket.
Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist discovered that Luke Goddard had used his place as a police officer to “achieve a monetary benefit”.
Mr Twist stated the general public wouldn’t anticipate a serving police officer to behave in the way in which the officer had and that solely dismissal with out discover was acceptable.
Mr Goddard, who left the constructing earlier than the dismissal sanction was handed down, might be added to the Faculty of Policing barred checklist.
The rail business says that fare evasion prices about £240m a yr and the price is felt by taxpayers and fare-paying passengers.
