Police officer ‘pretended she had cancer to avoid work’

A policewoman lied she had cancer to avoid work, a misconduct panel has found.

PC Olivia Lucas pretended she had been treated for leukaemia between October 2018 and July 2019 as part of a “web of lies”, a disciplinary hearing ruled.

The former Hampshire Constabulary officer, who worked in New Forest, also made false documents, including a county court judgment in an attempt to "destroy" relationships and reputations in the force, the panel said.

She was accused of sending the fake judgment to a retired police officer, adversely implicating another serving officer she knew.

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It is also alleged she told the retired office she had received offensive and threatening messages from various serving officers when in fact, she had composed them herself.

Lucas, who resigned from the force shortly before her hearing and didn’t attend the proceedings, was found to have committed gross misconduct on Monday.

She was accused of breaching the standards of professional behaviour in relation to honesty and integrity and discreditable conduct.

The panel found all allegations proven and ruled she would have been dismissed without notice had she still been a serving officer.

She has also been placed on the barred list.

Delivering their outcome and sanction, the panel chair Jane Jones, said the long-term deception of her colleagues and the force and the huge level of investment into her fantasy was done for her own purposes and with no regard for those drawn into her web of lies.

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Assistant Chief Constable Ben Snuggs said: “This officer went to extraordinary lengths to create a web of deceit and exploited the trust and kindness of her supervisors and colleagues, who even carried out fundraising events to raise money for her given she purported to be suffering from a serious illness.

“She also undertook an orchestrated, calculated and vindictive campaign to destroy the relationships and reputations of innocent colleagues due to her selfish fixated behaviour.

“I would echo the panel’s comments that one of most disturbing aspects of this case is the complete lack of respect she showed to the very real lived experiences of cancer patients and survivors for whom this type of scenario is a sombre reality.”