A Thames Valley Police officer faces allegations of gross misconduct after submitting ‘false information’ to gain access to public funds he wasn’t entitled to.
Police constable William Goode, based at Amersham Police Station, will attend a misconduct hearing at the force’s headquarters in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, on Tuesday, August 13.
He faces allegations of submitting false mileage cost claims on several dates in December 2022 and February 2023, in some cases travelling from an alternative, unregistered address and in others not leaving his home at all.
Many of the claims relate to journeys between Goode’s registered home, the Sulhamstead Training Centre and Amersham Police Station.
The proximity of his unregistered address to the training centre and station meant that, in some cases, claims were made for nearly double the number of miles he actually travelled.
In total, the claims made between February 6 and 24, 2023, totalled 1,790 miles – exceeding the force’s monthly limit on eligible claims by 918.
They were paid out, meaning he gained access to “an overpayment of public funds that he was not entitled to”.
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The misconduct hearing, which is open to the public, will deal with the allegations that Goode “recorded false information about the location he had travelled from or to”, “claimed for a greater distance than he had travelled” and “claimed for a date when he had no entitlement to claim mileage costs”.
He is also accused of “knowingly, intentionally and dishonestly making a false claim” despite agreeing that he had “read and understood the Code of Ethics” and confirmed his claims were “honest and correct”.
It is alleged that his actions were in breach of several standards of public behaviour for officers, including honesty and integrity to such an extent that they amount to “gross misconduct”.
A document laying out the brief for next month’s hearing also warns that Goode’s false mileage claims risked “discrediting the police service and undermining public confidence in policing”.
The hearing will begin at 10am on August 13 and continue for two days. Although it will be held publicly, numbers are limited to six people due to space constraints.
Anyone interested in attending must pre-register by clicking here before midday on Monday, August 12.
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