Former West Yorkshire Police employee jailed for stealing seized cash from police property store

Andrew Roberts, 53, was property manager of the Kirklees divisional property store when he was arrested in June 2017.

He pleaded guilty at Leeds Crown Court on March 3 to seven offences of fraud by abuse of position.

Further charges of perverting the course of justice were left to lie on file.

The offences date back to 2008, with him stealing more than £110,000 from the property stores. Roberts abused his position to steal cash from property items booked into the store for safekeeping.

He no longer works for the Force.

Detective Chief Superintendent Simon Bottomley, Head of West Yorkshire Police's Professional Standards Directorate, said: "Andrew Roberts abused the position of trust he was in and fell way short of the high standards and values expected of him as an employee of West Yorkshire Police, both by his colleagues and the public.

“Roberts is an embarrassment to the Force and there is no excuse for what he did. He now faces time in prison to consider the consequences of his actions.

“Any safeguards in place are reliant on the honesty and integrity of those running them. The vast majority of people who work for West Yorkshire Police are honest and work with an extremely high degree of integrity. He is very much in the minority.

"I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped with the investigation. It is always difficult to accept that someone in the Force could be capable of such criminal behaviour.

“I hope that this conviction and sentence demonstrates that no-one is above the law and we will take action against anyone involved in such criminality.”