Ex-police federation secretary jailed for fraud

An ex-police officer and federation secretary who used colleagues' money to pay for holidays has been jailed.

Jamie Harrison, of Worcester Road in Droitwich, Worcestershire, was previously found guilty of 15 counts of fraud by abuse of position while he was with West Mercia Police Federation.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) uncovered more than 100 fraudulent claims he made as secretary and treasurer between 2010 and 2018, using £12,699.88 of members' funds to pay for holidays, meals and entertainment.

The 55-year-old former officer, who resigned from West Mercia Police in 2022, was sentenced to two years and three months in prison at Worcester Crown Court on Wednesday.

The CPS said Harrison abused his position "repeatedly" and would use the federation's petty cash, over which he had sole control, for his personal expenditure, keeping claims to under £100 to avoid scrutiny.

He received salary payments for days he was not working, the CPS added, with text messages proving he took days off to watch rugby abroad.

He also used his attendance at National Police Memorial Days as opportunities to take family to stay in four and five-star hotels in York, Cardiff, Edinburgh and London.

During Wednesday's sentencing, Judge Martin Jackson said Harrison showed a "pattern of repeated abuse of the petty cash system".

He said Harrison's serious criminal conduct would inevitably damage the public's trust in police and officers' faith in their colleagues.

The court heard Harrison was of previous good character and had received a commendation for bravery while he was an officer.

He has since paid the money back in full with inflation added - totalling more than £16,500, the hearing was told.

Det Supt Tony Garner, of West Mercia Police, said Harrison "chose to act for himself" and took advantage of the positions he held.

"This was a betrayal of the trust placed in him by both the public and his colleagues," he added.

Victoria Norman, of the CPS, said Harrison was in a position of considerable trust, in which he was expected to act with honesty and integrity.

She added: "Instead, he exploited his control over West Mercia Police Federation's finances for personal gain and behaved in a thoroughly dishonest way during the entire eight years of his tenure."

Norman described him as displaying an "extremely cavalier attitude" to being caught, while his "entitled and dishonest behaviour" ran counter to everything he should have stood for as a public servant.

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