A SPECIAL constable who was sacked by a supermarket for not paying for £1.20 worth of carrier bags has also been dismissed from his role with West Mercia.
SC Luke Hodgson was dismissed from West Mercia Police’s special constabulary following a gross misconduct hearing in July.
A report published on Monday (October 12) detailed how Hodgson had previously been dismissed from his job at Sainsbury’s in December 2025 for failing to pay for carrier bags on three occasions.
The report, written by chief constable Richard Cooper, said: “It is accepted that there were three occasions when SC Hodgson failed to pay for bags whilst purchasing shopping. The total value of these bags was £1.20.
“On the balance of probabilities, SC Hodgson did know that payment was required for the bags and chose not to offer such payment.”
The hearing found that Hodgson was solely culpable for three separate offences in 12 days and his actions had caused harm to the police force by failing to be nothing less than trustworthy.
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CC Cooper said: “My finding is that SC Hodgson knowingly took bags belonging to his employer without paying for them on three occasions.
“This is theft and breaches the standards of behaviour relating to honesty and integrity, and it discredits the service to a level that amount to gross misconduct.
“SC Hodgson acted dishonestly and committed theft, which fundamentally undermines his ability to function as a police officer.
“This is not compatible with the high standards of integrity that are required of the service.”
CC Cooper decided that dismissal was the only possible outcome, because public confidence ‘could not be maintained’ if Hodgson remained a special constable.
He will also be included in the College of Policing’s barred list.
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What are special constables?
Special Constables are part-time volunteer police officers with the same powers and responsibilities as regular officers.
Many Special Constables give up their time to support police forces with frontline community policing while still working a fully paid job in another industry.
