'Lazy' detective used keyboard scam to fool bosses

DC Niall Thubron, who used "key jamming" to make it look like he was working, resigned from Durham Police

A "lazy" police detective used a keyboard trick to make it look as though he was working from home.

Det Con Niall Thubron was found to have deliberately conned his bosses at the North East Regional Organised Crime Unit (NEROCU) by using "key jamming", an act of holding down a key on a computer keyboard.

A Durham Police misconduct hearing was told Thubron made it look like his computer was in use on 38 occasions across 12 separate days while working from home between 3 December 2024 and 13 January 2025.

Durham Chief Constable Rachel Bacon said Thubron's motivation was one of "laziness" and he should be banned from policing.

The officer, who resigned in May, was working for the High Harm Investigation Team.

Mrs Bacon said the evidence presented by data from Thubron's laptop was "overwhelming."

It showed lengthy periods where the only activity is single keystrokes, pressing the 'H' key about 30 times, between 10:28 and 11:56 GMT on 3 December, and then the 'I' key more than 16,000 times.

Evidence showed Thubron, who did not attend the hearing, used key jamming for 45 hours out of a total of 85 he was logged in for and was frequently away from the keyboard for half of his working day.

'Disappointed and upset'

His former supervisor Det Sgt Stephen Gillibrand told the hearing he feels "let down and embarrassed" by the officer's actions.

In a statement he said: "The NEROCU, and me personally, placed trust in DC Thubron to undertake his investigations whilst being provided with the opportunity and benefit of working from home.

"The feeling of being let down is magnified by the fact that he has clearly employed tactics to deceive me and the NEROCU.

"His actions have undermined me, my team, and the NEROCU, and I am disappointed and upset."

Mrs Bacon said: "I am appalled that the former officer has let down his colleagues in this way."

Thubron has been prohibited from working in any policing role.