Top cop hits out at bonus payment

Aug 3 2008 by Michael Kelly, Sunday Sun

ONE of the region’s chief constables has called for the police bonus system to be scrapped . . . despite receiving a big payment himself.

Mike Craik and his deputy and assistants in Northumbria shared nearly £47,000 last year.

Nationally, more than £155m was paid out last year to officers of all ranks by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary — HMIC — for a wide range of reasons.

The payments, which are on top of overtime, include bonuses made to policemen and women who have to deal with unpleasant tasks, such as dead bodies.

Mr Craik, who is one of 10 chief constables to confirm receiving a bonus, said: “You have to perform very highly in the view of the HMIC and the police authority to qualify for a bonus.

“I’ve happened to qualify for a bonus. That doesn’t mean I agree with the principle of bonus payments in the public sector.

“It’s an inappropriate way of rewarding public services. Truthfully, they do not have a place in the police service.”

Mr Craik, who earns around £140,000 a year as head of the country’s eighth biggest force, believes the bonus system for lower-ranking officers needs changing.

He said: “I would like to see police officers paid better. The 1.9 per cent pay rise was totally inappropriate. My personal view is that it should go to a skills-based system where officers get paid more for the skills they display.”

Mr Craik is also critical of bonus payments made to officers having to deal with unpleasant jobs.

He said: “If a traffic officer comes across a vehicle and the people in it have their heads cut off, my personal view — which not everybody would agree with — is that is the job.

“Sometimes it’s awful. I have seen the most grisly things you could ever come across but that is the job I signed up to do.”

Northumbria Police Federation defended the bonuses, although they suggested it would be simpler to incorporate them into a bigger pay rise.

Chairman Russell Watson said: “From a taxpayers’ perspective, the system was designed to reduce sickness levels and the amount of complaints generated by the public.

“Historically, over the last four years or so, pay awards have been around three per cent. This year, we settled for the equivalent of 1.9 per cent. There can be a negative effect if one officer gets a payment and another doesn’t.

“I don’t know why this can’t be absorbed in our overall pay and make it simple.”