Met PC Luke Goddard sacked for avoiding prepare fares | EUROtoday

A police officer who admitted to knowingly avoiding paying prepare fares has been sacked for breaching requirements of “honesty and integrity” and “discreditable conduct”.

PC Luke Goddard, who joined the Met Police in 2000 and moved to Devon in 2003, had been on long run sick go away following an on-duty harm in 2019.

During a house go to by a supervisor, Sergeant Edwards, in June 2024, he was requested whether or not the price of journey was a barrier to his full return to responsibility.

The officer disclosed that he solely paid the £34 fare between Axminster in Devon and Salisbury in Wiltshire “around half of the time” as ticket limitations had been open and workers allowed him to journey at no cost on manufacturing of a warrant card.

Mr Goddard, who legitimately used a concession for Metropolitan Police officers to journey so far as Salisbury, instructed the listening to that he didn’t consider he had acted dishonestly when he relied on “the discretion” of prepare managers.

But the panel discovered he used his place as a police constable to “circumvent payment” between Wiltshire and Devon – two stations that he was not entitled to journey between and not using a legitimate ticket.

Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist discovered that Luke Goddard had used his place as a police officer to “gain a financial advantage”.

Mr Twist mentioned the general public wouldn’t count on a serving police officer to behave in the best way the officer had and that solely dismissal with out discover was acceptable.

Mr Goddard, who left the constructing earlier than the dismissal sanction was handed down, shall be added to the College of Policing barred checklist.

The rail trade says that fare evasion prices about £240m a yr and the price is felt by taxpayers and fare-paying passengers.