Yorkshire safer schools police officer and wife who lied about speeding tickets 'discussed her taking points for him on Whatsapp'

PC Mark Hinchcliffe, 43, who was a safer schools officer based in Leeds, and Lisa Hinchcliffe, 38, who worked for the same force in a civilian role, pleaded guilty to two counts of perverting the course of justice after their family cars were twice caught speeding by the same camera in a 30mph zone on Bruntcliffe Lane in Morley in 2021.

Bradford Crown Court was told that Lisa Hinchcliffe attended a speed awareness course and later accepted a fine and three penalty points on her licence after replying to the ticket on both occasions to confirm she was the driver.

However, footage from the camera – which the couple were able to view as part of the response process – showed a man driving their VW Passat and Renault Megane, on one occasion with one of their children in the front seat. Mr Hinchcliffe clocked speeds of 37mph and 36mph.

A report was made to the Police Professional Standards Bureau, which launched an investigation and arrested both. Their phones were seized, and Lisa Hinchcliffe was found to have been part of a Whatsapp group discussing how to avoid speeding fines and to have told her mother in messages that she was worried about her husband’s insurance costs and considering taking the points for him. She added that they were ‘screwed’ if he lost his licence, which already had five endorsements at this point, and claimed he would be unable to visit schools as part of his job. She also suggested another relative could accept the points for him, though this person was never contacted.

There was also evidence of Google searches she had made relating to avoiding fines.

Mark Hinchcliffe initially denied the offences at an interview, claiming he had received five tickets but that three were instances where they ‘weren’t sure’ who had been driving and were unable to identify the person on the CCTV images. Lisa Hinchcliffe answered ‘no comment’ to all questions.

Both husband and wife, who live in Drighlington, had nearly 20 years’ service with the force, but resigned after being suspended from their roles.

Mr Hinchcliffe’s defence counsel described him as having an ‘impeccable record’ and said: “He feels keenly what he has done. There is an impact on his family and he has let down children in the schools he worked at. He was of exemplary character and highly regarded, involved in his community as a fundraiser and in rugby. He was a thoroughly decent man who let everyone down.”

Mrs Hinchcliffe’s barrister described her as ‘honest and hardworking’ and confirmed she had found a new job since the offences. She said her father’s terminal cancer diagnosis had impacted her decison-making and warned of the ‘significant impact’ prison would have on the couple’s children, aged 12 and eight.

Jailing Mark Hinchcliffe for six months and imposing a four-month suspended sentence with 200 hours of unpaid work on Lisa Hinchcliffe, Judge Jonathan Rose said: “Acts like this undermine the justice system. You two thought you could try it on and get away with it because you would not come under suspicion. You were exactly the sort of people that nobody would suspect and that is why you did this.

"You chanced your arm. Lisa seems to have been a willing partner who played her role and researched the process. The eyes of the country are on the police forces, and this demeans their reputation as a whole. You did it once and you were emboldened and encouraged to commit a second offence.”

Both were also disqualified from driving, Mr Hinchcliffe for 15 months and his wife for 12 weeks.