Special constables at centre of row over police overtime costs

Councillor Colin Inglis, a former chairman of Humberside Police Authority, said the bill had averaged 6m for the last few years and cutting the payment to the specials was only a fraction of that amount.

The 1,500 annual payments, which together total 380,000, are due for the axe next April as part of cost-cutting measures by Humberside Police.

However councillors have been keeping up the pressure on Humberside Police Authority to reconsider the controversial move.

In a letter to Humberside Police's Chief Constable Tim Hollis, Coun Inglis said cutting the payment to specials "whilst apparently ignoring other inefficiencies in the service is ... an easy hit and one which the City Council feels should be avoided."

He said he had seen no proposals in the last four years addressing the issue of overtime.

The Labour Councillor said: "Employing a full-time constable for an hour I would think would cost at least 50 while the specials probably work for less than the minimum wage. They have to work 16 hours to get the bounty and some of them work a lot more than 16 hours a month.

"One of the Chief's arguments is that he doesn't have to pay them as he has 200 specials on the waiting list. But he clearly hasn't got enough officers, if he's spending 6m on overtime.

"For a lot of Pcs it's assumed that it is part of their regular income."

Coun Inglis said he hoped the Police Authority would act on public concern and look at making savings elsewhere – adding that it was a "test" of how effectively it is representing the interests of local residents "or whether it has become a mere "rubber stamp" for police management and vested interest within the full-time establishment of the service."

Humberside Police said they were taking steps to reduce overtime.

A statement issued by the force said overtime was a simple and practical method used to give them the flexibility to deal with unexpected demands.

It added: "It is there to support front line service delivery. Overtime use is monitored both locally on division and centrally so as to ensure that it is being used effectively.

"In response to the current financial climate, the recent Government Police White Paper has set a target for the reduction of overtime across the police service. Given the Government's commitment to maintain frontline policing, this is a significant challenge.

"In Humberside, additional steps are now being taken to review and further streamline the use of overtime in order to reduce the total spend on overtime."

The chairman of Humberside Police Federation, Steve Garmston, said: "They may attempt to manage it down but that will only succeed if they reduce the level of the service we provide to the public."

Last month, councillors in Hull voted to continue giving a generous council tax discount to specials who live in the city.

Nearly 16,000 of council tax discounts were agreed last year.

Only one in four forces in England and Wales now offers the bounty payment and police say they are confident the volunteers will stay. Chief Constable Tim Hollis has said the decision "is in no way intended to indicate a lack respect for our special constables."