Jailed: Crooked Met officer who stole vehicles from police property

Jailed: Sgt David Robinson
Metropolitan Police
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A crooked Met sergeant who stole bicycles, motorbikes, and a BMW from the police property store has been jailed for 18 months.

Sgt David Robinson, 36, swiped £16,000 worth of vehicles that had been seized by officers and logged in to police stations in Brixton and Streatham.

He stole three bicycles, five motorbikes and the BMW, then used a police radio and the Met's database to run checks on the vehicles.

When Robinson, an officer with the Met since 1999, was arrested, some of vehicles were found at his home in East Grinstead and one of the bikes had been put up for sale on eBay.

The officer had also registered some of the stolen vehicles with the DVLA using bogus details, Southwark crown court heard.

Robinson pleaded guilty to nine counts of theft, five counts of fraud, and two charges of misconduct in public office.

Judge Anthony Pitts jailed him for 18 months after rejecting a mercy plea for a suspended sentence.

Prosecutor Sarah Gaunt said Robinson was rumbled when he was spotted riding one of the stolen bikes at the back of Brixton police station.

It was part of a batch of eight bikes seized in June last year, but only six could be found when they came to be moved.

"On viewing the CCTV footage, the defendant could be seen just before 3am leaving the station, going to the location of the cycles, removing them from the area and walking to the underground car park", said Ms Gaunt.

One of the bikes was at his home, and Robinson confessed to theft when interviewed.

An eBay advert for one of the bikes, worth £1000, was discovered and Robinson promised to get the other bike back.

Checks revealed that other vehicles at Robinson's home had been seized by the police and then stolen from the property store between December 2013 and July 2015.

Kevin Baumber, defending, said Robinson split from his wife due to the pressure at work, and hid his financial woes from his new partner.

"This case represents the culmination of years of problems and a decline in his welfare", he said.

Robinson spent £14,000 on a custody battle with his ex-wife and refused to take antidepressants because he wanted to be able to continue working.

Mr Baumber added that Robinson had tried to steal items that he believed would never be returned to their rightful owners.

"This is a broken man who lost his faith and got lost rather than a malicious conniver."

Robinson was suspended after the allegation were first raised and now can expect to be sacked by the Met.

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