Dismay at £35m tough jobs bonus for the police

Despite growing budget pressures amid fears of public spending cuts,

the region's police forces are ordered every year to use taxpayers' money to reward thousands of officers.

National police regulations, which Yorkshire's four forces must comply with, mean that officers can receive extra cash for achievements which critics have described as day-to-day policing, such as showing "outstanding dedication" or generating good publicity for the police service.

Now, as figures obtained by the Yorkshire Post reveal that the average payment comes to 1,000 per officer, even front-line members are demanding a shake-up of the system because it has proved so divisive within police ranks.

Most controversial are special priority payments (SPPs), which

recognise officers who take on extra responsibility or carry out "demanding and difficult" jobs.

In three years, the region's forces spent 20.2m between them on SPPs, which can only be claimed by up to two-fifths of the workforce in any one year.

An extra 13.9m was paid out in competency related threshold payments (CRTPs), which reward officers who can demonstrate "high professional competence" and have spent at least a year at the top of the pay scale for their rank.

Additional bonuses, including payments made at chief officers' discretion for work deemed to be "outstandingly demanding, unpleasant or important", accounted for a further 580,000.

Overall, West Yorkshire Police paid more than 13.5m across the three schemes, with South Yorkshire paying 10.8m, Humberside 5.3m and North Yorkshire 5.1m.

Tory MP for the Vale of York, Anne McIntosh, said she would ask North Yorkshire Police for more details about how it was spending taxpayers' money and called for greater "transparency".

Mark Wallace, campaign director of the Taxpayers' Alliance

said: "Bonuses certainly have their place. However, it is clear that some bonuses are being paid in return for doing things that the public would view as day-to-day parts of policing."

Rank-and-file police in Yorkshire have called for SPPs to be scrapped and the money to be shared among all officers.

North Yorkshire Police Federation chairman Mark Botham said: "It would be no exaggeration to say that, in 2009, the way the scheme was

operated in North Yorkshire led to unprecedented angst and disappointment.

Humberside Police Federation chairman Steve Garmston added: "There are some ridiculous decisions and situations which arise out of the SPP. The aim is quite laudable, but the actuality of what it achieves is probably not in line with the original intention."

South Yorkshire Police chief constable Meredydd Hughes said SPPs and CRTPs could not be described as "bonuses" as Home Office rules

stipulate that forces must pay them.

He added: "SPPs are made to those officers at the forefront of protecting our communities and carrying out the most difficult tasks. CRTPs are nationally negotiated as part of officers' pay and conditions and are subject to an assessment of the officer's performance once those officers reach the top of their pay scale.

"South Yorkshire Police has a limited budget to meet these national obligations mandated by the Home Office and senior officers decide on these payments according to evidence presented to them. These payments go to officers involved in the most distressing, disturbing and harrowing circumstances."

Extra cash for working hard

Guidance issued by North Yorkshire Police lists numerous scenarios in which an officer may be entitled to a cash reward.

n Being involved in difficult or protracted hostage negotiations.

n Searching and taking fingerprints from a badly decomposed body.

n Examining a particularly "difficult and challenging" crime scene.

n Acting bravely.

n Attending a major incident, such as the 2001 Selby rail disaster.

n Carrying out a difficult investigation.

n Investigating major cruelty incidents or child abuse.

n Attracting good publicity for the police force.