Not for one particular policeman anyway as he faces a suspended prison sentence after defrauding a number of high street banks.
PC Jamie Hillman applied for loans or credit cards from the banks, including Northern Rock and Barclays, to fund an extra-marital affair with a female colleague from Avon and Somerset police force. In doing so he falsely claimed that he was a sergeant rather than a PC and also that he was a soldier who had been serving in Afghanistan.
At Bristol Crown Court, Hillman claimed that he was suffering from amnesia whilst committing the fraud which amounted to over 73,000. The judge in the case sympathized with Hillman to some extent, saying that he was emotionally fragile and had been brave for admitting the offences. He was given a 12-month custodial sentence which was suspended for two years.
Hillman was also ordered to do 300 hours unpaid work and there will be a confiscation hearing to determine repayments of the debt. However, he can perhaps count himself lucky that he didn t receive an immediate prison sentence for the offence. Would you have expected an immediate custodial sentence for those offences? Let me know.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2104132/Policeman-guilty-70-000-fraud-fund-affair-fellow-officer-walks-free-court.html?ito=feeds-newsxml