A FORMER nightime co-ordinator for the Dover Partnership Against Crime, has been convicted of stealing money from Kent Police.

Kelly Haughey, 34, claimed during her trial at Canterbury Crown Court that she had taken the £65 cash from the office drawer for safe keeping.

But a jury convicted her of theft on Monday and she was bailed for a pre-sentence report before sentencing.

Haughey, of Folkestone Road, Dover, was on trial for two thefts and was acquitted of stealing £432.50 cash and cheques from DPAC.

Judge Michael O'Sullivan told Haughey it was a breach of trust offence. "It may not be much in the way of money, but it is a serious matter," he stressed.

The judge said the pre-sentence report would go into her background and try to discover why she committed the theft and warned Haughey - who had no convictions - all options remained open.

Richard Scott, prosecuting, said DPAC's aim was to reduce crime and it comprised Dover Council, Kent Police, shops, pubs and clubs. Its co-ordinator was Mrs Karen Griffiths and Haughey started working for DPAC in October 2005.

One of DPAC's roles was to hire out walkie talkie radios to various customers and payments were banked in an account in the name of Dover Retail Crime operation.

In April Haughey was allegedly asked to bank over £400 in cash and cheques but when the paying-in book was checked, the counterfoil hadn't been filled out or stamped and money hadn't been deducted from clients accounts.

The Crown alleged Haughey had pocketed the cash and discarded the cheques but she told the jury she didn't recall the cheques being given to her.

In March 2006, unbeknown to Haughey, covert CCTV was installed in the office DPAC shared with two beat officers in Dover Police Station and in April officers from Kent Professional Standards, who are responsible for internal investigations in the police, put £65 contained in a plastic bag in a desk drawer used by Mrs Griffiths and Haughey.

The notes had been marked with a grease based marker that showed up only under flourescent light.

In May, video footage showed Haughey removing the money and when police went to her home, she said she had taken it for safe keeping.

She told the jury she worked at her family run cafe at Dover's Indoor Market and had handled money in a prevous employment at a hotel but there had been no allegations against her.

She would sometimes be asked to collect money from DPAC customers and admitted she saw the £65 in the drawer.

She didn't count it but put it in her handbag and went to see a customer after completing some radio checks.

There had been money in the drawer before, usually with something to say it was DPAC's money but there was nothing this time.

"I assumed someone had paid money to Karen and she had forgotten it was there. I had been told not to leave anything of value in the office because there had been things going missing. The drawer was not lockable."

She later exchanged texts with Karen but said nothing about the money. She just forgot it, she said.

When the police arrived she didn't think she had done anything wrong, she said. She was keeping the money safe until Karen returned to work the following week.

Although the notes were mixed in with her own money, she didn't intend to take any money and not return it, she claimed.