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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Cash machine raid officer jailed | Cash machine raid officer jailed |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| A policeman has been jailed for masterminding a series of raids on cash machines on Tyneside. | A policeman has been jailed for masterminding a series of raids on cash machines on Tyneside. |
| Suspended Northumbria Police officer Jason Singh, who was based in South Shields, was the ringleader of a gang targeting machines in Gateshead. | Suspended Northumbria Police officer Jason Singh, who was based in South Shields, was the ringleader of a gang targeting machines in Gateshead. |
| Newcastle Crown Court heard he had turned to crime to feed his £600-a-week cocaine habit. | |
| The 24-year-old, from Dunston, admitted two charges of conspiracy to steal and was sentenced to six years in prison. | |
| Passing sentence, Judge Esmond Faulks, said: "You were at the time a serving police officer. | Passing sentence, Judge Esmond Faulks, said: "You were at the time a serving police officer. |
| It is extremely rare for a police officer to become involved in offences as serious as this Detective Chief Constable David Warcup | |
| "You have let everybody down, not just yourself and your family, but the general public and the police whose reputation for integrity and honesty you have tarnished." | "You have let everybody down, not just yourself and your family, but the general public and the police whose reputation for integrity and honesty you have tarnished." |
| Singh, a promising footballer, joined the police after his career with Newcastle United ended when he was released at 18. | |
| Tony Hawks, defending Singh, said: "Once he started out as a police officer he found he couldn't cope. | |
| "He couldn't do his job properly and he fell back into his life of mixing with the wrong people and taking drugs." | |
| The offences involved in the charge included a raid at a petrol station ATM in Dunston on November 2005, which netted £13,000 and two attempted strikes on other garages in the area in December. | |
| He was arrested following a complex undercover investigation carried out by Northumbria Police, which had become concerned about the people he was associating with. | |
| Singh appeared in court with his brother Craig, 20, of Ryde Terrace, Dunston. | Singh appeared in court with his brother Craig, 20, of Ryde Terrace, Dunston. |
| 'Total policing' | |
| Also in court were: Mark MacDonald, 26, of Chelsea Gardens, Deckham; Shane Faife, 25, of Curzon Street, Bensham; Justin Brown, 28, of Fernlough, Windy Nook; Joseph McDonald, 27, of Colegate, Leam Lane, all Gateshead, and Peter Chisholm, 27, of Deerbush, West Denton, Newcastle. | Also in court were: Mark MacDonald, 26, of Chelsea Gardens, Deckham; Shane Faife, 25, of Curzon Street, Bensham; Justin Brown, 28, of Fernlough, Windy Nook; Joseph McDonald, 27, of Colegate, Leam Lane, all Gateshead, and Peter Chisholm, 27, of Deerbush, West Denton, Newcastle. |
| They pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal on the day their trial was due to begin, and received sentences ranging from 12-months to four and a half years. | |
| Detective Chief Constable David Warcup said of Singh: "It is extremely rare for a police officer to become involved in offences as serious as this. | |
| "I take satisfaction from the knowledge that when something like this does occur we have the systems in place to identify and dealt with it effectively. | |
| "Total policing is about tackling criminals at all levels, whoever they are." |