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Police chief pay to be published online from next month following Cleveland scandal revelations

 

Paul Peachey
Thursday 13 March 2014 19:47 GMT
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Former Chief Constable of Cleveland Police Sean Price who was among the highest paid chief constables
Former Chief Constable of Cleveland Police Sean Price who was among the highest paid chief constables

The pay and conditions of police chiefs are set to go online next month following a scandal over excessive deals at one of the country’s smallest forces.

Chief officers’ pay, received gifts and hospitality are due to be published as part of reforms of police conduct and the introduction of a code of ethics within months.

It follows the sacking in 2012 of the Chief Constable of Cleveland Police, Sean Price. Documents released last week revealed a regime of lavish entertainment by private contractors and misuse of corporate credit cards at the upper echelons of the force and the former police authority.

The code of ethics drawn up the College of Policing says that officers should “neither solicit nor accept the offer of any gift, gratuity or hospitality that could compromise your impartiality”.

Mr Price had been among the highest paid chief constables with a generous car allowance and retention bonuses of tens of thousands of pounds. Chief constables are paid between £130,000 and £260,000. Performance-related pay for chief officers was halted following a review of pay and conditions by the current chief inspector of police, Tom Winsor.

The new code follows a series of damaging blows to police credibility that included corruption claims within the murder investigation of Stephen Lawrence and the death of a man after he was struck by a police baton during G20 protests in central London.

The officer who struck Ian Tomlinson was cleared of manslaughter but it emerged that he faced 10 complaints in 12 years while a serving officer in both the Metropolitan Police and Surrey forces. He was able to evade disciplinary charges by quitting one force and rejoining another.

A register of disapproved officers – those sacked or who left before a disciplinary hearing – started in December to tighten up the system and now has 45 former officers on the list. Of the 21 who went on it in January, all but one was sacked after internal whistleblowing, the College of Policing said.

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