Tue, 11 Mar 2025

Tue, 11 Mar 2025 Met PC sacked for avoiding train fares

PC Luke Goddard admitted to knowingly dodging payment for train fares between Devon and Wiltshire.

* PC Luke Goddard was sacked from the Met Police after admitting to knowingly avoiding paying train fares.
* The officer, who had been on long-term sick leave since 2019, told a supervisor that he only paid half of his £34 fare between Axminster and Salisbury "around half of the time".
* A panel found that Goddard used his position as a police constable to "circumvent payment" between Wiltshire and Devon, two stations where he was not entitled to travel without a valid ticket.
* The public would not expect a serving police officer to behave in this way, said Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist, who described the action as gaining a financial advantage.
* Goddard will be added to the College of Policing barred list and fare evasion is estimated to cost £240m a year.
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