PSNI officer charged with swindling £500 from police through scheme set up after data breach, Craigavon court hears

Although Kaelum Lappin did not appear at Craigavon Magistrates Court, the 26-year-old was charged with a single count of fraud by abuse of position.

The particulars of the offence disclose that between January 30, 2024 and January 29, 2025 Lappin, whose address has been given as c/o PSNI Brooklyn, Knock Road, Belfast, abused his position of trust.

The currently suspended officer is alleged to have ‘applied for and received £500 under the PSNI Universal Offer Scheme’, which was reimbursement of money he claimed to have paid out for security equipment.

The alleged fraud arises, the charge details, in that Lappin ‘cancelled the said equipment order and received a refund for same on 28th December 2023 and did not declare this to your employer, with the intention, by means of the abuse of that position to make a gain for yourself or another or to cause loss to your employer or to expose your employer to a risk of a loss’.

Defence counsel Emir Terris-Smith asked for the case to be adjourned for four weeks.

District Judge Michael Ranaghan adjourned the case to August 20.

The PSNI introduced the Universal Offer Scheme, offering £500 to all officers and staff affected by the data breach, in August 2023.

In response to a Freedom of Information request, the personal data of almost 10,000 officers and staff was disclosed online.

The scheme was specifically intended to help officers and staff take practical steps around their security in the wake of sensitive information being disclosed in error.