Gross misconduct shame for Lancashire Police sergeant who resigned before he could be dismissed by force

Former police officer ​Matthew Moon was found to have acted with 'gross misconduct' after he submitted "deliberately inaccurate" records in regards to hours worked.

PS Moon, from Preston, had been the subject of a three-day public misconduct hearing into allegations that he had 'recklessly' overstated overtime pay owed to him.

The special case hearing, chaired by Superintendent Evans, took place between November 11 - 13.

The panel concluded that his actions had "amounted to gross misconduct" and had "breached the standards of professional behaviour."

Moon joined Lancashire Police in 2006 and rose to the rank of sergeant before resigning from the force following his suspension earlier this year.

But the panel said that had he still been in service, they would have dismissed him without notice.

A spokesperson for Lancashire Police said: "Taking all the evidence into account the panel found that PS Moon made records in the force Duty Management System (DMS) for the purposes of documenting his hours of work and/or compensation due to him (whether by way of overtime pay or compensatory time off).

"These records were deliberately inaccurate, overstating the time which PS Moon had worked and/or the compensation he was entitled to.

"The panel found PS Moon’s actions amounted to gross misconduct and breached the standards of Professional Behaviour in the areas of: Honesty & Integrity, Orders & Instructions, Duties & Responsibilities, Discreditable Conduct.

"PS Moon resigned from the force prior to the Misconduct Hearing and the Panel determined that had he still been in service they would have dismissed him without notice.

"Former PS Moon has been placed on the College of Policing Barred Officers List."

Serving as a PC, he had been involved in efforts to tackle anti-social behaviour and gang-related criminality in Kingsfold, Penwortham.

But after nearly 14 years of service, Moon is now included on a list of barred UK police officers.

An entry on the College of Policing website's list of disgraced officers says that Moon was "recklessly inaccurate" in overstating the amount of overtime he worked.

The website states: "The officer used the Duty Management System to enter deliberately inaccurate information; overstating the time which he'd had worked and/or the compensation he was entitled to and was recklessly inaccurate, overstating the time which he had worked and/or the compensation to which he was entitled to."