AN Avon & Somerset Police sergeant has been dismissed without notice after using a picture frame to press keys on her computer – in a bid to convince bosses she was working, as she dealt with “challenges in her personal life”.

The police officer, referred to as Sergeant X, has been barred from police and other law enforcement agencies following an accelerated misconduct hearing which was held at the force headquarters in Portishead on Wednesday (February 25).

A misconduct panel heard how data used by the force’s Professional Standards Department (PSD) identified PS X’s keystrokes as significantly high in 2024, which prompted an investigation which opened in June that year.

Evidence found Sgt X weighed down her keyboard on the majority of shifts she worked in April and May 2025, and her keystrokes were between three and eight times higher than colleagues in a similar role.

PS X gave an account of her actions and admitted using a corner of a picture frame to weigh down the keys so her laptop would not go into ‘sleep’ mode, and she could monitor calls on a separate screen during a time in which she suffered challenges in her personal life.

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At the hearing, former Assistant Chief Constable Craig Holden, chair of the misconduct panel, found her behaviour amounted to gross misconduct, and decided the officer’s anonymity should be upheld after considering representations.

After the hearing, Det Supt Larisa Hunt, head of Avon & Somerset Police’s PSD, said: “It is extremely disappointing an officer has behaved in a way which could not only discredit the police force, but also undermine the public confidence in respect of our duties and responsibilities.

“We know officers and staff deal with immense pressure and high workloads, and while Sgt X had some mitigating circumstances, it’s unacceptable for an officer to act in this deliberate and deceitful way by abusing the trust placed in her, by making it appear she was working when she was not.

“We recognise the overwhelming majority of our officers and staff work hard to protect the public.”

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