The prosecution of a former police officer for alleged fraud has been dropped.

Roland Barber, who worked for Kent Police for 25 years, faced trial for allegedly syphoning off more than £82,000 from his employer.

The Crown Prosecution Service has now decided to offer no evidence in a hearing at Maidstone Crown Court.

Barber was alleged to have abused his position as a private investigator for TMC Assist, on Strood’s Medway City Estate, between April 2008 and September last year.

The firm is now seeking a civil hearing at the High Court against the 60-year-old, of Blean, near Canterbury.

The CPS decision was met with anger from former colleagues of Barber.
One said: “We’re very frustrated by this, but we are not going to give up on a civil hearing.”

Senior crown prosecutor Alistair Dickson said: “There is no longer a realistic prospect of a conviction in this case to the criminal standard.”

Barber spent five years on motorway patrol based at Maidstone before retiring in 2005.