A misconduct hearing has found a former Cumbria Police officer guilty of gross misconduct following an off-duty shoplifting incident from an Asda store.

After being accused of stealing £237.89 worth of goods from a Carlisle Asda, former PC Lucy Hynes resigned from the force on July 31, resulting in her absence at the misconduct hearing which was held between July 29-31.

Prior to the hearing, the former officer had been provided anonymity, but as the hearing concluded, the reporting restriction was removed.

The hearing heard how Hynes, who began her service with the Cumbria Constabulary in 2015, was seen on CCTV at the Kingstown Asda store on November 23, 2022, around 4pm.

She was spotted attempting to leave the store without paying for various items, with three pieces of clothing without security tags in her possession.

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The Asda security guard intercepted Hynes, whose response to being caught was, "I haven’t paid for these”, identifying herself as a police officer in the process.

During a subsequent police interview, Hynes admitted to not paying for the items and removing the price and security tags on a dressing gown and jumper.

She also claimed that the tags on the woman’s pants had fallen off as she fitted them and that the other tags were removed “so that she would not forget to remove them whilst wrapping them to give away as Christmas presents”.

In her defence, the former officer maintained that her “prevailing medical conditions caused her to be confused, distracted, and lose focus and in essence was a momentary lapse of memory and as such her conduct was not dishonest”.

But the hearing decision document said: “The panel concluded that at the relevant time  Officer A (Hynes) was aware of her obligation to pay for the goods and she had the mental capacity to form an intent to exit the store without paying for the goods in her trolley, and intentionally exited the store without paying for the goods."

Theft of goods from a retail store was found to be a violation of the Standards of Professional Behaviour of Honesty and Integrity and Discreditable conduct, justifying dismissal.

It was noted that if Hynes were still a member of the service, the panel's decision would have led to her immediate dismissal.

Chief constable of Cumbria Constabulary, Rob Carden, said: “This misconduct hearing demonstrated clearly that the conduct of this former officer fell far below the standards that both myself and the public expect from our police officers.

“The actions of the former officer breached multiple elements of the Standards of Professional Behaviour, which all officers are expected to adhere to and uphold.

“This individual has been held accountable for their actions and they be entered onto the national ‘Barred List’ meaning they will not work in policing again.

“The overwhelming majority of our officers and staff act with professionalism, integrity and honesty, both in their working and private life.

"However, it is clear that there is no place at Cumbria Constabulary for those who cannot meet those standards.”