A police officer who walked out of a shop with £26-worth of goods faces a gross misconduct charge.
But Thames Valley Police has refused to identify the officer, with Chief Constable Jason Hogg imposing reporting restrictions preventing them from being named.
No reasons were given for anonymity being granted.
In a notice published on the force’s website, it was said the officer was off-duty on February 26 when they were caught on CCTV taking items in a shop and making no attempt to pay for them.
The unnamed officer was handed a penalty notice for disorder, a type of out-of-court disposal for lower-level crimes, and was banned from going back into the shop.
Their reason for taking the items or what items were stolen was not given by Thames Valley Police.
A force spokesman said: “[We] allege that if these allegations are proven, the conduct would amount to gross misconduct for which a finding of dismissal would be justified.”
A misconduct hearing will take place at Kidlington police headquarters on September 21 in front of the chief constable.
When he got the top job earlier this year, Mr Hogg described rebuilding trust and confidence in policing as a 'number of one priority'.
And he told ITV that he would be ‘absolutely unapologetic in rooting out’ officers and staff members who do not meet the standards expected of them.
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