Warkwickshire police overtime bill "out of control"
Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2011 12:43 pmIt’s being claimed the amount of money Warwickshire Police spends on overtime is ‘out of control’.
Research by the Policy Exchange think-tank says the force has increased its bill per officer by more than half over the last decade – an increase of £1,036.
Nationally, figures peaked in 2007/08 when officers in England and Wales took home £437 million on top of their normal wages.
Blair Gibbs, from the Policy Exchange, told Sky News: “It can’t be institutionalised, it can’t be something that is expected just to be awarded and then given.
“It has to be something that is used only when is absolutely necessary when you can’t foresee and you can’t plan for the policing that you need.”
Police officers’ pay has already been frozen and Home Secretary Theresa May told forces to expect further cuts.
Warwickshire Police had already confirmed last year officers’ shift patterns were being altered, to make more staff available at any one time and subsequently lower the need to bring people in on overtime.
The first half of the influential Winsor report, which is likely to recommend sweeping changes to overtime and other areas, will be published on Tuesday.
If it's "out of control" now, what will it be like after the recent cutbacks in numbers?
