A police officer has been barred from the profession after he faked more than 100 hours of work by holding down the Z key on his keyboard.
PC Liam Reakes was found to have committed gross misconduct in a tribunal at Avon and Somerset Police headquarters in Portishead today.
He would have been dismissed without notice if he had not already resigned last month, Bristol Live reported.
The Yeovil-based officer admitted to holding down the key during numerous shifts for 103 hours between June and September 2024, sometimes for more than four hours at a time.
In a subsequent audit of his keystrokes, it was discovered that he had been using the same tactic since the previous September, the hearing was told.
Chairman of the panel Craig Holden called the behaviour ‘deceitful and dishonest’.
‘He had lied during the interview process when he could have come clean, and the activity was regular and sustained,’ Mr Holden added.
PC Reakes admitted opening a blank Word document and holding the Z key for long periods of time, however he denied that it was to falsely give the impression he was working when he wasn’t.
PC Liam Reakes faked more than 100 hours of work by holding down the ‘z’ key on his keyboard
He was found to have committed gross conduct in a tribunal at Avon and Somerset Police headquarters
Nevertheless he accepted his behaviour fell below the standards expected.
Barrister Mark Ley-Morgan, representing Avon and Somerset Police, said: ‘He knew he was being paid for work that he was not doing.
‘We are all entitled to take a break and have a cup of tea but this was far beyond that.
‘There is no place in the police service for dishonest officers.’
He added that concerns about PC Reakes’ performance in 2024 had led to meetings with his sergeant.
PC Reakes argued that he was struggling with mental health issues and lacked the support and motivation which came from working alongside colleagues in an office, Mr Ley-Morgan said.
He said that PC Reakes claimed that he held down the Z key to allow him to see his computer screen and respond quickly to messages.
PC Reakes has been added to the national barred list preventing him from working in policing or law enforcement agencies again
Detective Constable Philippa Baskwill deliberately weighed down the keys on her laptop to make it look like she was working from home(Stock photo)
Last month, in a strikingly similar case Detective Constable Philippa Baskwill, who was also based in Somerset was dismissed without notice after she deliberately weighed down keys on her laptop more than 21 million times to make it appear as if she was working from home.
The hearing heard how software used by the Professional Standards Department identified an abnormal number of keystrokes over prolonged periods of time, which prompted an investigation.
The investigation found evidence that DC Baskwill opened documents and repeatedly depressed specific keys to make it appear as if she was working.
This behaviour was identified on 17 separate days in 2023, varying from a few minutes to up to more than a four hours. A total of more than 21 million keystrokes were recorded in 2023, with almost three million in one month alone.
The investigation also found evidence that DC Baskwill was also using her work laptop during shifts to do online shopping and search for flights.
In November 2023, she was online shopping for a total of four hours and 30 minutes during one shift.
In her account, DC Baskwill admitted to using her mobile phone to depress keys and prevent her laptop from going into standby.
