Former police officer jailed for fraud and abuse of position

88 of members' funds to pay for holidays, meals, and entertainment. According to the Crown Prosecution Service, he abused his position repeatedly and used the federation's petty cash, over which he had sole control, for personal expenditure, keeping claims under £100 to avoid scrutiny. He also received salary payments for days he was not working, with text messages proving he took days off to watch rugby abroad, and used his attendance at National Police Memorial Days as opportunities to take family to stay in four and five-star hotels in York, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and London.

During sentencing at Worcester Crown Court on Wednesday, Judge Martin Jackson said Harrison showed a pattern of repeated abuse of the petty cash system and that his serious criminal conduct would inevitably damage the public's trust in police and officers' faith in their colleagues. The court heard Harrison was of previous good character and had received a commendation for bravery while he was an officer. He has paid the money back in full with inflation added, totaling more than £16,500.

Det Supt Tony Garner of West Mercia Police said Harrison chose to act for himself and took advantage of the positions he held, calling it a betrayal of the trust placed in him by both the public and his colleagues. Victoria Norman of the Crown Prosecution Service said Harrison was in a position of considerable trust, in which he was expected to act with honesty and integrity, but instead exploited his control over West Mercia Police Federation's finances for personal gain and behaved in a thoroughly dishonest way during the entire eight years of his tenure.