One police officer has been caught using a 'deceitful' work-from-home hack in order to fake being busy, resulting in her being let go from the job without notice and banned from entering law enforcement again.
Working from home is something that exploded in popularity following the COVID-19 pandemic, as everyone being forced inside their own homes made many realise that the office wasn't as necessary as it once seemed.
Countless people have seen massive improvements to their work life balance and monthly costs, as transport expenses and even things like childcare are now no longer a question without the need to go to the office every day.
There has been a pushback from some, however, as they have the impression that people who work from home do nothing all day — and one police officer's recent actions unfortunately haven't helped those largely incorrect and unfair claims.
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As shared by LADbible, a member of the Avon and Somerset Police was caught using a trick to prevent her laptop from going to sleep when working from home, effectively hiding that she wasn't actually present and available all the time.
Tools like this have been available for a while now, as they typically either artificially jitter your mouse or interact with the screen to prevent platforms like Microsoft Teams and Slack from putting you in an 'Away' status, but the copper in question opted for a more primitive solution than this.
According to the investigation, the officer – referred to as Sergeant X – left a photo frame on her laptop which was designed to enact regular keystrokes in order to keep her computer active.
However, it was this simple trick that actually left her exposed, as the investigation into her activities was triggered following the discovery that her keystrokes were between three and eight times higher than colleagues in similar roles, suggesting foul play at work.
Her investigation came to its conclusion on Wednesday, February 25, leaving her dismissed from her role without notice and banned from any other police or law enforcement agencies in the future.
Sergeant X claims that she employed this trick in a 'challenging period' of her life, and that she still monitored any calls from a second screen despite not working on the primary device.
"This was not an act motivated by personal gain, corruption, or an intention to undermine the organization or the public," the accused police officer explained during her dismissal hearing.
"I feel deep sorrow and genuine remorse for the position I have placed the organization, my colleagues, and myself in. I understand it could have been seen as dishonest but I did not act in a dishonest way."