Police officer jailed for stealing £50K from evidence room to fund shopping habit must pay back £32K in 28 days… or face nine more months behind bars

• Lisa Arnold, 53, would search for uncounted cash in evidence rooms to steal 

A Dorset police evidence officer who stole £55,000 of cash from evidence lockers to fund her shopping addiction has been ordered to pay back more than £32,000.

Lisa Arnold, 53, stole the cash from between October 2018 and March 2022.

She was jailed for 24 months in January and could have nine months added to her sentence if she does not pay the money back within 28 days.

Bournemouth Crown Court heard that as a property researcher, Arnold was responsible for logging exhibits of seized items.

She would search for uncounted exhibits and remove the cash before resealing the envelopes.

Officers the home of Lisa Arnold (pictured) in Swanage, Dorset, and found £15,000 worth of cash piled in the bottom of her wardrobe

To do this, she carefully sliced the bottom open to remove wads of notes before repairing them with Sellotape.

She would often visit the stores at the HQ at Winfrith, near Dorchester, outside of working hours.

Despite two investigations into money going missing from the station Arnold didn’t stop stealing from the evidence stores until she was caught on March 19, 2022.

Her colleagues found that cash had gone missing from 17 envelopes which had previously been counted, while 41 others had been tampered with.

Officers searched her home in Swanage, Dorset, and found £15,000 worth of cash piled in the bottom of her wardrobe.

When she was arrested, Arnold admitted to using the money to pay off debt for an online shopping addiction which she developed after her marriage broke down.

Arnold pleaded guilty to a charge of theft by an employee at Bournemouth Crown Court and was jailed for two years in January.

On Thursday, a Proceeds of Crime Act hearing at the same court has ruled the total benefit figure from her offending was £55,000.

She was jailed for 24 months in January and could have nine months added to her sentence if she does not pay the money back within 28 days

The total amount available to be seized under POCA legislation was £32,829.84.

The remainder of the total benefit figure is still outstanding and there will be reviews in the future to decide whether Arnold has acquired further assets and is able to pay further amounts.

Detective Constable Scott Brimicombe, of Dorset Police’s Economic Unit, said: ‘The defendant in this case obtained a large amount of cash from her offending.

‘Dorset Police is committed to using legislation available to us under POCA legislation to ensure that criminals are not able to walk away with the proceeds of their criminal activities.’

Following the arrest, Arnold was immediately suspended from work and formally resigned from Dorset Police in May 2022.

In jailing her for two years, Judge Susan Evans KC said her actions had a ‘devastating impact’ on public confidence in police which warranted an immediate custodial sentence.

She said: ‘You were in a trusted position.

‘You were using online shopping as escapism and quickly fell into debt.

‘High standards are expected of those who work in the police force. These offences have a devastating effect on confidence in the police.

‘Appropriate punishment can only be achieved through immediate custody.’

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