A SOMERSET police officer who weighed down keys on her laptop to make it appear as if she was working when she wasn’t, has been sacked.

Detective Constable Philippa Baskwill was also found to have spent work time shopping and searching for flights – including more than four hours in one shift.

Now, she will be barred from policing and other law enforcement agencies following an accelerated misconduct hearing held in front of Chief Constable Sarah Crew on Thursday (April 10).

The hearing heard how software used by the force’s Professional Standards Department identified an abnormal number of keystrokes over prolonged periods of time on DC Baskwill’s machine.

An investigation found evidence that DC Baskwill opened documents and repeatedly depressed specific keys to make it appear as if she was working.

The behaviour was identified on 17 separate days in 2023, varying from a few minutes, to up to more than four hours, the force said.

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 DC Baskwill had also been 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 using her mobile phone to depress keys and prevent her laptop from going into standby.

At the hearing, Chief Constable Sarah Crew found DC Baskwill had committed gross misconduct by breaching Standards of Professional Behaviour relating to honesty and integrity, duties and responsibilities, and orders and instructions.

After the hearing, Supt Larisa Hunt, head of the Professional Standards Department, said: “We know officers and staff are dealing with immense pressure and high workloads so it’s extremely disappointing for an officer to act in this deliberate and deceitful way. She’s let down the public primarily, but also her colleagues too.

“We regularly remind line managers of their responsibilities to hold regular check-ins, one-to-ones, and reviews, to consistently monitor the wellbeing and capacity of their staff. This will also ensure any further instances like this are swiftly identified and dealt with.”