Disgraced: WPC Michele Selby was convicted of attempting to defeat the ends of justiceA police officer who failed to arrest a convicted thief because she ‘could not be bothered’ was yesterday jailed for a year.
Constable Michele Selby confiscated tools from a man who claimed he was fixing a Chinese restaurant’s door in the early hours of the morning.
She told the man, who had six previous convictions, she knew he was trying to break in and if she did not have another call to go to he would have gone to jail.
However, the job she was rushing to was not a 999 call but delivering letters to another police station.
At a hearing at Glasgow Sheriff Court last month, Selby was found guilty of attempting to defeat the ends of justice.
Selby, 38, of Cumbernauld, Dunbartonshire, had told the court she believed the man was fixing the door and that no crime had been committed.
Passing sentence yesterday, Sheriff Richard Clark told Selby: ‘I recognise that the effect of this conviction is catastrophic for you. I also recognise that prior to the commission you were held in high regard in society.
‘Nevertheless, having regard to the factors, I am satisfied that a custodial sentence is the only appropriate disposal in this case.’
