PC who binned mobile phone before arrest jailed

A police officer who binned her mobile phone shortly before she was due to be questioned by anti-corruption officers has been jailed.

Lancashire Police said Samarah Kamal, who was part of the force's East Response Investigations Team, fell short of the standards the public would expect of an officer.

Kamal, 27, of Fletcher Road, Preston, was jailed for nine months and two weeks at Liverpool Crown Court after admitting perverting the course of justice on 12 February.

The officer was sacked by a misconduct hearing last year.

Lancashire Police said officers from the anti-corruption unit had tried to contact Kamal in relation to a money laundering inquiry.

They found she had phoned in sick to work but was not at home when they called to her address.

They phoned her personal mobile at 14:56 and 14:59 BST but she did not answer.

The officer then missed when she tried to call back but phoned her back again at 15:02 and she agreed to meet them at their location.

She arrived at 15:11, where she was arrested.

Kamal was searched - as was her home - and it was discovered that in the nine minutes between speaking to the investigating officer and arriving at their location, she had disposed of her mobile phone.

Getting rid of the phone and the subsequent loss of evidence, led to her facing charges of perverting the course of justice.

Det Supt Pete Reil, head of the force's professional standards department, said: "Samarah Kamal's dishonest conduct fell well short of what the public would expect of a serving police officer.

"Quite rightly, it has resulted in a criminal conviction and dismissal from her privileged role as a police officer."

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