Buxton detective who stole more than £85k from Derbyshire police force jailed

A former Derbyshire Constabulary detective has been jailed after admitting stealing more than £85,000 from the force.

Michelle Reason, who is known as Kirsty, stole £87,174.05, €1,629, and £114 worth of Albanian Lek from the force while working as a detective constable in a specialist team investigating high level drugs gangs.

Acting as the exhibits officer, and one of only a small number of people with access to the safe that contained hundreds of thousands of pounds, she began siphoning off cash around January 2022 after she dealt with a large cash seizure in the region of £350,000.

She initially stole £15,000 and told officers that, once she found that nobody had noticed, began taking money on a regular basis until she left the force in December 2025.

However, her crimes began to unravel as, following her departure, officers began to review the stored exhibits in preparation for an upcoming court case and began to question where the cash had gone.

Reason, knowing that the time was up, attended St Mary’s Wharf Police Station in Derby and confessed to taking the cash.

The 54-year-old who is from Buxton, gave a full account of the money that had been taken, even bringing with her the empty evidence bags that cash had been seized in.

Appearing at Mansfield Magistrates’ and County Court on Monday, November 9, where she pleaded guilty to theft and misconduct in public office Reason was handed four years and two months in jail.

She will now also be subject to Proceeds of Crime Act proceedings in order to recover the money that was stolen.

Temporary Deputy Chief Constable, Michelle Shooter said: “Michelle Reason was placed in a position of trust as a Detective Constable.

“She broke the trust that we as a force put in her – and broke the trust that public puts in officers to conduct themselves in a right and proper way.

“She told officers initially that the money was stolen to fund debts that she had accrued.

“However, further work showed that she had spent money on a car, a holiday, and tickets to events.

“Officers and staff who find themselves in financial difficulty are duty bound to make that clear to the force, due to the potential risk that this poses to them around being improperly influenced or blackmailed.

“They are also able to access support and guidance from both their immediate line manager and the wider force.

“Instead, Reason used her position of trust to take that money – but it was clear that she did not simply take this money to satisfy those debts, but rather to fund a lifestyle that she would have been otherwise unable to achieve.

“Her actions are a disgrace. Individuals who are willing to act in such a way have no place in policing and we will do all we can to root them out and bring them to justice.”