Leicestershire PC lied about period pains to go to work late

A police officer lied about suffering from period pains to avoid criticism for being late to work, a misconduct hearing has found.

PC Rebecca Reeves failed to wake up on time to travel back to Leicester from Preston in time for work in November.

Instead, she told her sergeant she had become unwell during the night and needed a prescription from a doctor.

Leicestershire Police said Ms Reeves, who has since left the force, breached standards of professional behaviour.

It added had Ms Reeves, who covered the Melton area of the county, still been employed in the force, she would have been dismissed without notice.

The misconduct hearing, held earlier this month, was told Ms Reeves had been due to attend training at the force's Enderby headquarters at 08:00 GMT on 24 November 2022.

However, she had stayed overnight in the Lancashire city - about 130 miles away.

Early that morning, she messaged a colleague saying where she was and that she would not be at work on time.

She also shared her concern that she would be criticised for being late and considered making up a family emergency.

A short time later Ms Reeves messaged her sergeant a series of lies, first saying she was unwell after suffering from period pains that had disrupted her sleep during the night.

She also said she was going to request a doctor's appointment and asked to attend the training after this or train at home.

In further messages, she said she was at home and waiting for that appointment and later said she had received a prescription for anti-sickness and painkillers.

She arrived to work at about 12:30.

Ms Reeves did not attend the hearing but did not dispute the facts presented, the force said.

The hearing found her actions would "seriously undermine public confidence in the police" and her conduct had been "fundamentally dishonest".

Leicestershire Police Chief Constable Rob Nixon, who chaired the hearing, said: "The actions of former PC Reeves fell well below the standards, which are expected of police officers and amounted to gross misconduct.

"Former PC Reeves acknowledged this and apologised for her conduct.

"Building and maintaining trust and confidence in our force remains a priority."

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