Met Police officer faces jail for stealing money from dead man

A Metropolitan Police officer is facing jail after he stole money belonging to a man who had died in the street.

PC Craig Carter, 51, took cash from the wallet of the unnamed victim after his death in September 2022, when it was meant to be kept as evidence.

At Wood Green crown court on Friday, Carter pleaded guilty to a charge of misconduct in public office.

Judge Daniel Fugallo adjourned the sentencing hearing until September 13 and freed Carter on unconditional bail, while ordering a pre-sentence report from the Probation Service.

But the judge told the officer: “Neither ordering the report not the fact I’m granting bail should be taken as an indication of the type of sentence you will receive.

“It seems the most likely sentence you will receive is one of immediate imprisonment.”

Carter, who lives in Harlow in Essex, was a PC in the Met’s North Area Command Unit.

He was suspended from duty after being charge, and first appeared in court at the end of June.

He admitted he had “willfully misconducted yourself….by taking for your own use money from a wallet received as evidence of a sudden death”.

The original charge in the magistrates court set out that Carter had “stolen cash from a deceased male who has passed away in the street”.

The incident happened between September 7 and September 14 2022 in the borough of Haringey in north London.

Tetteh Turkson, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “The vast majority of police officers are viewed by members of the public as trustworthy, responsible and upstanding members of our society. Craig Carter fell woefully short of these expectations.

“The fact he thought he could freely steal from a victim who had sadly passed away is not only disturbing, but deeply disrespectful to the victim's family. Our thoughts remain with them at this time.

“After collaborative work from the CPS and Metropolitan Police Service, Carter was left with no option but to plead guilty and face the consequences of his actions.”

The court heard a friend of the dead man is set to give a impact statement at the sentencing hearing.

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