A West Yorkshire Police detention officer has been jailed for lying to the Magistrates' Court in order to avoid a driving disqualification.
Sharjeel Jelani, 34, who works in Bradford District, admitted one count of perjury when he appeared at Sheffield Crown Court on Thursday, 28th September 2023.
The case was listed for trial that afternoon, but Jelani changed his plea at the final moment.
The 34-year-old tried to dodge a driving disqualification by making a dishonest exceptional hardship application at Bradford and Keighley Magistrates Court in June 2022.
Jelani was clocked speeding at 120 mph on the M606 back in May 2021.
He falsely told Magistrates, on oath, that his driving licence was essential for his job as a police officer working in West Yorkshire Police's Roads Policing Unit.
Magistrates took Jelani at his word and ended up endorsing his licence with 6 penalty points instead of imposing a discretionary disqualification.
In normal circumstances, given the wide margin by which Jelani exceeded the speed limit, he would almost certainly have faced a disqualification in excess of 56 days.
Jelani's dishonesty was pretty brazen and it didn't take too long before it was detected.
Appearing at Sheffield Crown Court, Jelani was sentenced to 14 months' custody for perjury.
He was also disqualified from driving for a period of 12 months, which will commence on his release from prison.
Detective Superintendent Tanya Wilkins, of West Yorkshire Police's Professional Standards Directorate, said: "Honesty and integrity are core values that all police employees should have. Any suggestion that someone employed by the police has lied in criminal proceedings is extremely serious.
"DO Jelani has been suspended from duty since this investigation commenced. He will now be subject to misconduct proceedings."
A good reminder, as if any were needed, of the importance of providing truthful evidence when appearing in any court.
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