Chief Constable says scrap public sector bonuses

Aug 4 2008 by Liz Hands, The Journal

THE North East’s most senior policeman has called for the public sector bonus system to be scrapped – despite receiving a big payment himself.

Mike Craik and his deputy and assistants shared nearly £47,000 in performance-related payments last year.

The force also paid out more than £4.3m in bonuses to rank-and-file officers, as well as £70,000 to superintendents.

Nationally, more than £157m was paid out in bonuses last year to officers of all ranks for a wide range of reasons.

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

One Northumbria Police officer received £500 for being the first at the scene of a murder.

While chief officers can receive up to £15,000 for hitting targets, superintendents can also receive thousands of pounds in performance-related payments.

Rank-and-file policemen and women can also receive extra money if they have jobs that are regarded as particularly difficult or if they have hit the top of the pay scale for their ranks.

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 Her Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary (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.

“Our high performance has come from work we would have done anyway.” Mr Craik earns around £140,000-a-year due to the fact he leads the country’s eighth biggest force.

He said: “All I want is the wage for the job but with no additional incentives. I get paid for hitting the targets and I should just stand or fall on that.

“The police authority has the right to hire and fire and if I keep failing to hit targets, there is something they can do about it.

“They can get rid of me.”

Mr Craik also believes the bonus system for lower-ranking officers needs changing.

He said: “I would like to see police officers paid better. The 1.9% 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.

“We want to move to a system where you get paid according to your skills. That is what the future holds.

“As you learn and train and pass courses and get accredited, that is when you get the pay increment.

“You should get paid more because you are better at your job and have the accredited skills to prove it, rather than because you have been around longer.”

Mr Craik is also critical of bonus payments made to officers having to deal with unpleasant jobs, such as decomposed bodies.

He said: “I think we need to get away from this. A traffic officer comes across a vehicle and the people in it have their heads cut off.

“My personal view – not everybody would agree with – is that is the job – full stop.

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

How our forces paid out

TOTAL bonuses paid out to officers by the region’s police forces during 2007/2008:

Northumbria: £4.3m, shared among 3,931 officers

Durham: £1.7m, shared among 1,638 officers

Cleveland: £1.4m, shared among 1,705 officers

We'd rather have a bigger pay deal - officers

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. The pay-back was better value-for-money. Historically, over the last four years or so, pay awards have been around 3%.

"This year, we settled for the equivalent of 1.9%. 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. Everybody would benefit. I would sooner see this simplified into a larger pay award for all officers. I don’t think standards would reduce." The Association of Police Authorities is responsible for the chief officers’ bonus system.

A spokesman said: "We recognise the need to ensure that rewards for senior officers are transparent and fair.

"We are committed to reviewing the bonus scheme in order to understand if and how it improves performance."

However, a Home Office spokesman said: "The Home Office is not reviewing this at the moment.

"We think the present system works well because it allows forces to reward unpleasant, demanding or important work. Chief officers have discretion to give those bonuses. The regulations don’t limit the number or total value of bonus payments. We think it appropriate for the local authority to decide, rather than Whitehall, although they obviously have to work within budgets and criteria for payments as set out in police regulations."

The different bonus schemes were introduced around six years ago with the aim of improving efficiency and rewarding policemen and women with particularly difficult jobs.

Most of the payments to rank-and-file officers are Competence-Related Threshold Payments (CRTPs) or Special Priority Payments (SPPs).

CRTP is paid to officers who have reached the top of their pay scale for their rank and depends on them proving they are good at their job. SPP is paid to officers who have a particularly difficult job for their rank or have to work in a demanding working environment, such as being regularly outside in bad weather.

But officers can also claim extra bonuses of up to £500 if they carry out a wide range of unpleasant jobs or show particular dedication to duty.

Northumbria paid out more than £1.8m in CRTP and more than £2.5m in SPP. Northumbria also paid out more than £20,000 to officers for having to carry out unpleasant and difficult tasks, including dealing with dead bodies.

Paul McKeever, chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: "The current bonus system is divisive and unfair. The fairest mechanism of reward is to abolish the bonuses and special priority payments and have fairer national pay across the board, commensurate with this vital role in society."