Somerset police officer Detective Constable Philippa Baskwill dismissed after shopping for hours during work shifts

A detective has been dismissed after she spent hours shopping when she should have been working. Detective Constable Philippa Baskwill, who was based in Somerset, was found to have used various methods to make it look like she was actually carrying out her duties.

An accelerated misconduct hearing, held in front of Chief Constable Sarah Crew on Thursday (April 10) heard how software used by our Professional Standards Department identified an abnormal number of keystrokes over prolonged periods of time, which prompted an investigation.

The investigation found evidence Baskwill had been using her work laptop during shifts to do online shopping and search for flights. In November 2023 she was online shopping for a total of four hours and 30 minutes during one shift.

There was also evidence that Baskwill opened documents and repeatedly depressed specific keys to make it appear as if she was working. This behaviour was identified on 17 separate days in 2023, varying from a few minutes to up to more than four hours. A total of more than 21 million keystrokes were recorded in 2023, with almost three million in one month alone.

In her account, DC Baskwill admitted to using her mobile phone to depress keys and prevent her laptop from going into standby.

At the hearing, Chief Constable Sarah Crew found DC Baskwill had committed gross misconduct by breaching Standards of Professional Behaviour relating to honesty and integrity, duties and responsibilities, and orders and instructions.

Supt Larisa Hunt, head of the Professional Standards Department, said after the hearing: “We know officers and staff are dealing with immense pressure and high workloads so it’s extremely disappointing for an officer to act in this deliberate and deceitful way. She’s let down the public primarily, but also her colleagues too.

“We regularly remind line managers of their responsibilities to hold regular check-ins, one-to-ones, and reviews, to consistently monitor the wellbeing and capacity of their staff. This will also ensure any further instances like this are swiftly identified and dealt with.”

Baskwill will be barred from policing and other law enforcement agencies following the hearing. The full misconduct outcome notice will be published on our website once finalised.