Typing 8x more than your peers? You better have the work to show for it

Avon and Somerset Police this week confirmed a former officer was dismissed after she was found weighing her laptop keyboard down with photo frames to simulate activity.

The former officer, referred to only as Sergeant X, was dismissed following what police said was an accelerated hearing, which ultimately ruled she had committed gross misconduct.

Sergeant X recorded keystrokes that were three to eight times the volume of her colleagues in similar roles.

Investigating the case, Avon and Somerset Police's Professional Standards Department (PSD) concluded that Sergeant X deployed the trick during "the majority of shifts" she worked in April and May 2025.

The same woman's keystrokes were recorded as abnormally high throughout 2024, the police said, and a formal investigation into her conduct began in June 2025.

According to an official statement, Sergeant X "admitted using a corner of a picture frame to weigh down the keys so ...