Jail for former West Yorkshire PC who let wife take blame for speeding

Former officer Mark Hinchliffe felt he had "let everybody down", his barrister told the court

A police officer who tried to dodge two speeding tickets by getting his wife to take them on his behalf has been jailed for six months.

PC Mark Hinchliffe, 43, was caught on camera twice in three months breaking a 30mph limit in Morley near Leeds.

When the couple received the speeding tickets, they claimed it had been his wife Lisa, 38, also a police employee, who had been behind the wheel.

A judge said the pair had "tried it on" because they worked for the police.

The Leeds-based officer, who has since resigned from West Yorkshire Police, and his wife, who also left her civilian post, pleaded guilty to two offences of perverting the course of justice at a court hearing last November.

'Significant harmful impact'

Passing sentence on Wednesday, Judge Jonathan Rose told the pair: "You thought you could get away with it and thought that people who stand in the dock for these offences were people who were not like you. You are wrong."

The judge said he "could not in all conscience" send Lisa Hinchliffe to jail because of the "significant harmful impact" it would have on their two children and gave her a four-month jail term, suspended for two years.

Bradford Crown Court was told Mr Hinchliffe, who was a safer schools officer for West Yorkshire Police at the time, had worked for the force for 18 years and had an impeccable record.

Prosecutor Richard Walters described how he was caught on camera speeding in Morley while driving the couple's VW Passat and Renault Megane vehicles at 37mph and 36mph on the same 30mph road in April and June.

After receiving Notices of Intended Prosecution for speeding, his wife declared she had been the driver both times.

The court was told she attended a speed awareness course and for the second offence paid a fixed penalty fine and had points put on her licence.

Former police worker Lisa Hinchliffe was ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and given a suspended jail sentence

However, after an investigation by the police professional standards board commenced in September the pair, of Moorside Drive, Bradford, were arrested and their mobile phones were seized.

Mr Walters said: "Both phones had extensive messages relating to the speeding offences."

'Let everybody down'

He added: "He [Hinchliffe] talks about a new job he's got where he has to visit schools and says he wouldn't be able to visit them if he lost his licence.

"He also expressed concern because he was worried there was another offence to come and at that stage Lisa talks about taking three points for him."

Sarah Barlow, defending the former officer, said going to prison was every officer's worst fear and added: "He is a thoroughly decent man...or was. He feels keenly the fact that he has let everybody down."

The judge said Hinchliffe had let down the police force and his family.

He said he had been "emboldened" by getting away with the first offence and that had encouraged the couple to commit the second offence.

"Of course this is always a serious offence and of course a prison sentence will always be passed and, I'm afraid to say Mark Hinchliffe, even more so when it is a serving police officer who does this."

Mark Hinchliffe was also banned from driving for 18 months.

His wife was banned for 12 weeks and also ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work.

'Fundamental values'

West Yorkshire Police said misconduct investigations would now resume, which could see the couple banned from any policing role in future.

Det Ch Supt Nicola Bryar, of the force's Professional Standards Directorate, said: "Both the police and public quite rightly expect our officers and staff to abide by the law.

"Mark Hinchliffe not only committed criminal offences in the first place by speeding, but when caught he has, alongside his wife Lisa, knowingly tried to affect the criminal justice process.

"Honesty and integrity are fundamental values of the police service."