Secret pay deals give top police thousands extra
Senior police officers are receiving “off-book payments” and secret perks totalling hundreds of thousands of pounds, including private school fees and cars for their spouses.
The Times has discovered that one chief constable heading a force of just 1,700 officers was paid a £74,000 top-up on his salary last year. Sean Price, of the Cleveland force, was paid a £50,000 “retention package” and an “honorarium” of £24,000, raising his income to £200,000.
The private deals, sometimes referred to as debentures or supplements, are negotiated with police authorities behind closed doors and paid over and above salaries agreed in national negotiations.
The incentives include generous relocation packages, satellite TV, home security and even “lifestyle coaching”. They are legal but largely hidden from the public. The Times has uncovered the scale of the practice.
Ian McPherson, head of Norfolk police, received £70,000 more than his £126,000 salary in 2007-08 when his police authority paid the stamp duty on his purchase of a new house.
Sir Norman Bettison, West Yorkshire’s chief constable, has a “unique package” worth about £55,000 a year.
Essex Police Authority paid a “golden handcuffs” bonus to the chief constable, Roger Baker, but the strategy failed because he retired this week.
The pay deals are the subject of fierce disagreement among chief police officers and officials, who are gathering today in Manchester for the annual conference of the Association of Chief Police Officers (Acpo) and the Association of Police Authorities.
Sir Ken Jones, the retiring president of Acpo, said: “If people feel that the pay scales need to change then they should be openly renegotiated. These payments effectively lock people into a particular force and inhibit movement and development.”
Another senior officer told The Times: “We should not have such secrets in the Police Service. This works totally against the idea of equal opportunities. You have to be part of the inner circle.”
But Stephen Bett, the chairman of Norfolk Police Authority, said: “If chief executives of district councils, with very limited direct public accountability, are paid £120,000 a year, what would attract anyone to be Chief Constable of Norfolk, with all his direct accountability, for £129,000 per year?”
By Craig Robertson
