Detective sacked over John Lewis perfume theft

A detective who tried to steal a £105 bottle of perfume from a John Lewis shop has been sacked and banned from working in the police again.

Det Con Tracey Smith removed the plastic wrapping from the box inside a changing room at the Trafford Centre store and placed it inside her bag before going to the till to pay for other items, a misconduct hearing was told.

The panel found the Greater Manchester Police officer was guilty of gross misconduct.

Smith was not charged with theft at the discretion of the business, but was banned from all John Lewis stores for life and made to pay a £245 civil recovery payment.

The misconduct hearing, chaired by the force's chief resources officer Lee Rawlinson MBE, was told Smith initially claimed the perfume had just been left in the changing room when she was challenged by a security guard.

However she later admitted what she had done as her details were being taken in the back of the shop.

Smith's representatives told the hearing she had been experiencing mental health difficulties at the time of the incident on 10 August 2024, although the details were not made public.

The panel heard she had since apologised to John Lewis, and Rawlinson said he accepted her remorse was "absolutely genuine".

However, Rawlinson found that Smith's health issues did not "absolve" her of responsibility.

He concluded she had breached police professional standards on honesty and integrity and discreditable conduct to the level of gross misconduct.

"The harm to public confidence which would result from a police officer committing, or attempting to commit, a criminal act cannot be underestimated," he wrote.

Rawlinson added: "I understand the argument that value was low at £105, however what is of greater significance is the harm to the retail industry that shoplifting has.

"Shoplifting costs the industry significantly each year and is of high concern at present to the public and the sector."

Smith's name was added to the College of Policing barred list, prohibiting her from working in any policing role in future.

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