A Scotland Yard police worker and his wife who made a fortune selling lost iPods, mobile phones and satnavs have escaped a jail sentence.
For three years Stephen Bowers, 56, stole the items when he was working in the police stores. Some of the goods were exhibits used in court cases, Southwark crown court heard.
Bowers’s wife Elizabeth, 63, admitted she had taken part in the crime by handling the goods at their marital home.
The couple were charged at the end of last year following an operation by the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards.
More than £34,000 in cash was found during a raid at the couple’s home in West Hampstead. There were also mobiles and iPods worth £2,500.
The items would normally have been auctioned or otherwise disposed of but Bowers took them home and sold them on or gave them to friends at his local pub in West Hampstead.
Bowers, who admitted theft, was given a six-month sentence suspended for two years. His wife, who admitted handling stolen goods, was sentenced to four months, also suspended for two years.
In addition, Bowers was ordered to carry out 220 hours’ community service and his wife 150 hours.
Bowers, who received a certificate for long service from the Met in 1995, had been depressed at the time and has since resigned.
“He finds himself before you, his life utterly in ruins,” said Sarah Kerslake, defending. Jon Steingold, representing Mrs Bowers, said she had been left “devastated”.
Judge David Higgins described the thefts as “utterly deplorable and deeply anti-social”. He added: ‘‘If you choose to stoop to serious crime, I’m afraid you must accept the consequences.”
But, he said, there was a “tragic quality” about the case and accepted the remorse shown was sincere.
The couple must pay £1,500 to cover the prosecution’s costs. The £15,000 estimated proceeds of the crime were forfeited along with the stolen goods.
