A volunteer special constable has been sacked by Sainsbury’s and dismissed by police for failing to pay for carrier bags on three occasions. Luke Hodgson was found to have deliberately not paid for carrier bags at Sainsbury’s, amounting to £1.20.
Misconduct ruling details
The behaviour happened within twelve days, West Mercia chief constable Richard Cooper said in a misconduct ruling. He added that Luke Hodgson ‘did know that payment was required for the bags and chose not to offer such payment.’
Cooper said: ‘The public expect nothing more from the police service than for them to be trustworthy. By way of aggravation, whilst this was not operational dishonesty, it does represent an abuse of trust given SC Hodgson’s position as an employee of the store.’
Dismissal and barred list
‘There are some mitigating factors. SC Hodgson has lately repaid the amount, but 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 that are required of the service.’
Hodgson was dismissed without notice and has been placed on the College of Policing’s barred list. He will no longer be able to serve as a police officer in the future.
Similar case in 2024
In 2024, a Sainsbury’s worker was sacked after almost 20 years for taking the bags without paying after a night shift. Niamke Doffou selected the zero bags used option on the self-service checkout as he packed up his £30 shop, an employment tribunal heard.
He was later hauled in front of bosses and dismissed after they watched CCTV of the incident and concluded he could no longer be trusted. Mr Doffou, a native French speaker who has lived and worked in the UK for nearly two decades, claimed he was ‘tired and unaware of what he was doing’.
But his claim of unfair dismissal was thrown out by a judge who said it was ‘very hard to argue’ with the decision to dismiss after the theft of the bags which are sold to customers for either 30p or 65p.
