PSNI could dismiss shoplifting sergeant over ‘brazen’ thefts
A POLICE sergeant faces not only being stripped of her rank but also losing her career of 15 years after being convicted of shoplifting.
Linda Totten had already faced a trial for stealing from an Asda store in the run-up to Christmas in 2013.
The jury in that trial was unable to reach a verdict, but the defendant was yesterday found guilty by another jury at Dungannon Crown Court.
The 50-year-old, who showed no emotion as the verdict was delivered, denied two charges of stealing from the Asda supermarket in Enniskillen.
One of the charges related to a trolley full of goods taken on December 20, and the second to more than £155 of items taken four days later on Christmas Eve.
Releasing the defendant on continuing bail until sentencing in the new year, Judge Neil Rafferty told Totten, whose address was given as c/o Enniskillen PSNI station, that granting her freedom was no indication of the sentence he would impose.
The PSNI woman was caught on CCTV on both occasions with a trolley load of shopping, on top of which was a small box containing other goods.
When challenged, Totten told staff she had paid for the majority of the shopping and only needed to pay for the items in the small box.
Prosecution barrister James Johnston contended that the defendant had not gone to the store to buy a few items, she had gone to steal them.
He also accused Totten of being no ordinary shoplifter who “goes around stores slipping things under her coat”. He said the “bold and brazen” thefts were carried out by a “bluffer... with the expectation that she would be believed” when she claimed she had already paid for most of her items.
Mr Johnston told the jury that Totten had attempted to paint herself as a victim and accused her of “attempting to garner sympathy”.
Defence barrister Liam McStay argued that shortcomings and failures in the prosecution case were “so severe” that the jury should not convict his client.
Mr McStay said there would have been no need for a trial if the police had seized all CCTV footage available for 28 days, which would have shown conclusively what occurred on both occasions.
Instead, he argued, the jury had not seen all of the security footage, adding that to base any decision on the portion shown in court was “highly dangerous”.
Mr McStay said his client had a clear record, was of good character and was a serving police officer. She had answered all the PSNI’s questions, save for giving the name of a previous partner.
Totten had told her interviewers: “If I go into a shop to buy something, I buy it. I wouldn’t leave a shop without paying.
“My job is to keep the law, not to break it. It was not my intention to do anything wrong.”
Outside court, PSNI Deputy Chief Constable Drew Harris said: “We will deal with this in line with conduct regulations, and the officer’s duty status will be reviewed as part of this process.”