Police staff embroiled in 'key jamming' fraud probe

A number of police staff have either quit or been dismissed as a result of an investigation into alleged "key jamming" - in which staff make it appear they are at work while actually absent.

The BBC understands the investigation at Northamptonshire Police relates to at least 1,516 hours of alleged "key jamming", amounting to at least £44,000 in "fraudulent working time claims" in 2025.

A spokesman for the force said nine of those caught in its investigation were police staff and a further two were staff working for the Office of the Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner (OPFCC).

Danielle Stone, the county's PFCC, said: "This kind of behaviour falls well short of the standards we all expect."

"Key jamming" involves any method to simulate active computer work, usually by placing an object on a keyboard to prevent a system timeout or otherwise manipulating a computer to make someone appear to be actively using it.

A recent case in Durham, for example, involved a detective repeatedly making his computer appear to be in active use when it was not. Analysis by experts at the force later found there had been lengthy periods where the only activity on the laptop of former Det Con Niall Thubron was single keystrokes, including an 'i' key being pressed more than 16,000 times.

The allegations in Northamptonshire all involve staff "placing an object on their keyboard" to make it appear as though they were active, a force spokesperson said.

The cases emerged as part of an investigation by Northamptonshire Police's counter-corruption unit.

The force said it was not currently treating the matter as a criminal investigation.

The BBC understands that one person has so far been dismissed, three have resigned in the face of disciplinary hearings, one has received a final written warning and six investigations are ongoing.

Stone said: "This operation has rooted out individuals – both in Northamptonshire Police and within my own office - who have chosen to be deceptive.

"An important part of my Safe and Sound public safety plan is that our staff work to the highest professional standards."

She said the police were working "relentlessly to put a stop to this behaviour" adding it was "important to ensure public money is not wasted" when public finances were "so stretched".

"Key jamming is something that has happened at other police forces across the country as well as here in Northamptonshire, and we know this will have a negative impact on trust and confidence," Stone said.

"The vast majority of police officers and staff work very hard under significant pressure to keep our county safe."

The "key logging" probe at the Northamptonshire constabulary, which employs about 2,800 officers and staff and has a £194m budget, comes a year after the sacking of its former chief constable, Nick Adderley, for lying and exaggerating his naval rank, length of service and achievements.

Adderley was charged last October with fraud and misconduct in public office after allegedly lying about his military career.

The 59-year-old is accused of falsely claiming he was a former lieutenant commander in the Royal Navy, had served in the 1982 Falklands War and was entitled to wear associated service medals.

He faces one count of misconduct in public office and one count of fraud, contrary to section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006.

A provisional trial date in the case has been set for December 2027.

Other forces have also dealt with incidents of "key jamming" in recent months, including the one in Durham in which Thubron later resigned, and multiple incidents reported by Greater Manchester Police (GMP).

In December 2025, four GMP employees were sacked and barred from policing in connection with a large scale "key jamming" investigation carried out by its anti-corruption unit.