Ex-officer who took £5 guilty of gross misconduct

A misconduct panel heard former PC Jonathan Wolverson found the £5 in a police vehicle he had been cleaning

A former police officer, who admitted pocketing a £5 note he found while cleaning a police vehicle, has been found guilty of gross misconduct.

A hearing into Jonathan Wolverson's conduct was held on 14 July by Chief Constable Jason Hogg.

Mr Wolverson served as a Thames Valley Police constable at Banbury Police Station, in Oxfordshire, but left the service after the incident.

In his ruling, Mr Hogg said: "The appropriate disciplinary action is for no formal action be taken."

The misconduct panel heard Mr Wolverson joined the force in 2022 and the Appropriate Authority (AA) said his conduct "wholly compromised his position as a police officer".

Between September and October 2024, it heard Mr Wolverson was conducting checks on a fleet police vehicle when he discovered the £5 note.

Mr Hogg said the former officer had made a full and frank admission

The panel was told: "He showed this £5 cash note to his colleague and immediately said something along the lines of 'I'll keep it as a cleaning fee'.

"He then put the money in his pocket and continued his shift. He made no attempt to identify the owner of the £5 cash note."

The AA said Mr Wolverson had breached the standards of professional behaviour, in respect of honesty and integrity.

'Honesty throughout'

The panel was told Mr Wolverson was emailed with details of the allegations and had "chosen not to provide any response".

During an interview he previously attended about the allegations, the panel heard the former officer's response was that "he was frustrated at the state of the cars and continuously cleaning them and made a full and frank admission".

Mr Hogg said: "On the balance of probabilities, the behaviour did amount to gross misconduct, on the simple basis that his actions fell below what the public would expect."

Ruling there would be no formal action taken, he said: "The only two outcomes I have available are no sanction or dismissal - if the former officer had still been serving.

Mr Wolverson had been "very foolish", said Mr Hogg, adding: "But as soon as he was challenged the former officer made a full and frank confession, to his credit this would not have become an investigation without his honesty throughout."

The chief constable concluded former PC Wolverson would not be added to the barred list.