A West Mercia Police special constable, Luke Hodgson, has been dismissed from his policing role following a misconduct hearing that found he committed theft by deliberately failing to pay for three carrier bags worth £1.20 while working for Sainsbury's.
The decision came after an internal supermarket dismissal and a later police review.
According to West Mercia Police, Hodgson failed to pay for the bags on three occasions in December 2025.
The July misconduct hearing, chaired by Chief Constable Richard Cooper, found the conduct breached professional standards on honesty and integrity and damaged confidence in the police service.
The hearing found Hodgson had used self-service tills and had correctly paid for bags on previous occasions, according to findings published by the force.
Each transaction required users to confirm that they had not taken a bag without payment.
Cooper concluded that the value of the unpaid items did not remove the seriousness of the conduct because police officers are expected to maintain high standards of honesty.
"An ordinary person would consider this action, to avoid payment when it was obviously required, to be dishonest," said Richard Cooper, Chief Constable.
The chief constable rejected Hodgson's explanation that he had failed to pay accidentally, finding that he understood payment was required and chose not to complete it.
The officer had already been dismissed by Sainsbury's after the supermarket's disciplinary process.
"inadvertently," said Luke Hodgson, describing his explanation for taking the bags without payment.
Cooper also noted that Hodgson had been trained to use self-service tills and had previously completed bag payments as a customer.
"Clearly able to navigate the checkout system adequately," said Richard Cooper, Chief Constable.
The hearing was told Hodgson repaid the £1.20 and cooperated with the investigation.
He had no previous recorded disciplinary concerns during his service.
"I have found SC Hodgson to have acted dishonestly and to have committed theft, which fundamentally undermines his ability to function as a police officer.
This is not compatible with the high standards of integrity required of the service.
There are no other recorded matters of concern in SC Hodgson's brief service before this episode, but I do not believe exceptional circumstances exist that would lead to deviation from the presumption of dismissal.
Indeed, dismissal is the necessary outcome.
Having arrived at the conclusion of deliberate dishonesty amounting to theft, public confidence cannot be maintained by SC Hodgson retaining the office of constable.
He will therefore be dismissed without notice," said Richard Cooper, Chief Constable.
The misconduct hearing classified Hodgson's actions as gross misconduct and determined he could no longer remain a constable.
"This is theft," said Richard Cooper, Chief Constable.
The ruling stated that deliberate dishonesty was incompatible with the standards expected of police personnel and led to Hodgson's removal from service.
"This breaches the standards of professional behaviour relating to honesty and integrity and it discredits the service, both to a level that amount to gross misconduct," said Richard Cooper, Chief Constable.
Hodgson was dismissed without notice and will be placed on the College of Policing's barred list, preventing him from serving as a police officer in the future.
