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I dont know about this case but i do know about my Brother who is in the Police. I think they do a great job, but i cannot understand the antiquated rules that the public sector and especially the police seem to have applied to their jobs.

Many people i know in private sector struggle to reach the salary of my brother and many don't get overtime, especially if they get the sort of salary he gets. Let alone the additional 'allowances'. And virtually no one i know in the private sector gets a pension anything like the police scheme.

It seems the UK public sector and especially the police pay has got out of control at the same time has old world pensions still apply. I don't want a race to the bottom for pensions but i do think there is an inequality here and my tax is paying for someone elses pension that i cannot afford! And he will retire at 46!!!

I agree that no one should be asked (or allowed) to do so much overtime and earn so much from overtime. I've seen my brother take opportunities for overtime almost 'at will' - topping up his salary whenever he wants but saying he tries not to go to high to avoid paying too much tax!!

Not only that but i know of plenty of officers doing exta jobs on the side and also leaving the police at an early age and coming back as consultants..
Please, am i the only one who is frustrated by this? Who is able to compete with this in the private sector??

- Andy, Hertfordshire, 25/08/2011 20:32
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the only way a policman can earn that kind of money is been an undercover, they would have to be doing an easy under cover job say one for the scientific deparment who are doing the bidding of the Patten report 69 and 70, the police have been follwing me for years and have photes to prove it look on photbucket mmh189 there are 6 phots of the same officer in diffrent location, all the paper work I recived back under the freedom of info act from the police are on my blog, you can all so find me on facebook margaret hughes, they will explain all that has happened to e

- margaret hughes, huddersfield, 05/02/2011 21:01
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Us PCs dont earn anywhere near 100k with overtime, but myself and many met police PCs do make extra money. We try to make arrests no matter what the crime at the end of our shifts which takes us into overtime! There are many ways to take advantage of the system so why not? Our detectives and high ranking officers were allowed to abuse the american express cards, mps abused expenses- as long as a loophole allows people to take advantage they inevitably will

- Gd Pc, london, 06/08/2009 13:40
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I don't see why everyone is complaining, it's not as if most constables are earning amazing wages, my brother in law who is a pc for the met doesn't earn a great deal, despite having a young family, his overtime gets translated into free days not money. So what if they did manage to find a way round to get more money, i prefer cops and other emergency service members to recieve money like this, rather than celebs and footballers.

Also people are letting their prejudices overcome them, this p.c was working royal protection oversea, so its understandble that he was recieving that much money.

Yes the judical system tends to cater for the rich, but what do you expect in a capitalist society, most police constables are traditionally lower middle class to upper working class in professional aspects.

- Al, Lewisham, 05/08/2009 01:00
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My heart bleads for this man. He is lucky he has got a job and overtime is a bonus when so many are on minimum wage or don't have a job. Wasting tax payers money again. He can afford to pay his bills where others have little or no food to eat.

- Kez, London, 05/08/2009 00:43
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Nearly as good as the Doctors deal ain't it.............
But this is life in Lielabours Britain of today.........

- Themanoftruth, United Kingdom, 04/08/2009 22:15
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Keith, I think most of my answer to Andy probably applies to you too, but maybe not all of it. You say that:

- "The big question here is not whether or not this police officer should be paid for the obviously excessive hours that he works, but whether those being provided with his protection should be afforded this expensive service in the first place."

I still disagree.

To make that kind of assumption is to be guilty of the kind of assumption you accuse me of. If someone is deemed to require 24hr protection, for whatever reason, then it is both unrealistic and unreasonable to expect that duty to fall to just one individual.

So yes, I would have sent two officers in that instance, with the increased air fairs and hotel rooms - if something needs to be done then it needs to be done properly.

My gripe isn't just that officers shouldn't be earning vast sums in overtime, but that they shouldn't be forced into so MUCH overtime so regularly in the first place.

Plus, if someone has earned twice in overtime than their original basic wage, then it isn't just a 'one-off' indecent - so it's doubtful if employing another officer would be more expensive anyway.

Even if we do need to spend more on policing to get it right then I'd fully support that, but no, I still don't support a trebling of someone's wages - there should be caps.

I don't get paid for all the extra hours I've put in travelling & being away from home etc, most people don't - it's just the job.

- John, London, 04/08/2009 22:02
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Andy:

Come on, talking of private sector 'bonuses and pensions of millions' is a non-argument and you know it - or are we to start comparing the salary of those who work in places like Tesco's, (private sector work) with the salary of a Commissioner?

Most people seem to be missing my point and I really don't know how else to make it - I'll repeat my opening two sentences:

- "I think if an officer is able to TRIPLE his salary with overtime, then clearly there aren't enough officers to begin with."

- "It's not this particular officer's fault, (good luck to him, I hope he enjoys the money he earnt)..."

Andy, if you're a police officer, (and you sound like you are) then thank you for doing a difficult and important job. However. If you're being effectively forced to work over 100 hours each week then you are clearly being over-worked, as there aren't enough other officers to cover the workload in a reasonable and proper manner.

I'm not blaming you, this officer in question, or any other rank and file officer personally - but it is what this story is about. These things are set at a political level and they deserve to be discussed.

Be honest, forget your shattered private life for a moment, there's no way you can be performing at your best if you're working over a 100 hours a week in a physically demanding and mentally stressful job is there?

I couldn't, not for any extended length of time, I don't believe anyone in any job like that could...

- John, London, 04/08/2009 21:21
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Once again most of the commenters are just using the occasion to gripe. The fact that he was overseas and apparently constantly on duty it put aside as irrelevant, seen next to the commenter's pet hobbyhorses. Things never change, do they!

- Rogan, Irving, 04/08/2009 19:41
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This £100,000 officer spent much of the year abroad guarding one Tony Blair as he circled the globe hauling in massive fees.

- J Miller, England, 04/08/2009 19:23
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John, London
The old bill did not go into the private sector and their rules...bonus x£££££ and in the good times pensions of millions until Gordon cmae along
They signed a contract which states there is a small overtime amount to be paid after 8 hours work.
I am NOT moaning but to finish at 11pm and start at 4am for week after week sucks the life out of you when on an enquiry..after six weeks you are dead on your feet.
Why do it? ...because you think you can make a change.
I now do it for time off.
Again...NO moaning , I could find another job , but these hours are not fun..as stated 100 hours a week (no days off at all effects you)

- Andy, surrey, 04/08/2009 19:04
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Barry Deane, what the hell are you on about? I think that you need to revisit the history books for starters.
What has the social class of the average victim of crime got to do with overtime payments?

John, London- How many hours did this officer actually work and what are the rules, exactly, of which you say you disapprove? I suspect that your answer will be "I don't actually know".

The big question here is not whether or not this Police officer should be paid for the obviously excessive hours that he works, but whether those being provided with his protection should be afforded this expensiv service in the first place.
Personally, I don't know, because I don't know who he was escorting and for what purpose.

- Keith Lonsdale, Doncaster, 04/08/2009 18:42
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The main criteria Police Forces were formed in the early part of the 19nth century was to protect the Ruling Classess ,Aristocracy from the Working Classess more importantly their Prized Properties,in certain respects there is still an element of this.
A vast majority of victims of crime are going to be honest working people.
Not the Privileged Elite they have their Gated Complexes plus Chauffeured Cars,to segragate themselves from most mere mortals,
Although most Police are honourable people,one could argue there is an element of self serving interest which is shared amongst a specific group of people

- Barry Deane, Richmond, United Kingdom, 04/08/2009 17:38
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Rsaviour why do you comment when you clearly don't know what you are talking about? The Police don't have officers sitting around who they can call upon when something comes up so they need to ask officers to do over time. Do you honestly think they are going to work an extra shift free of charge? Officers are constantly asked to cancel their rest days and work a shift. How would you like it if you had your weekend cancelled and was told to work? He deserved that money.

- Jason, London, 04/08/2009 17:04
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"So, he should put in the extra hours for free, then?"

Now that's clearly NOT what I said is it Belfast Cop.

I've been abroad on business before, (and had to stay away from my home within the UK too) and I, and in fact most people in the private sector, doesn't get paid for every hour we are away from home on business - it's just expected that we do it.

That's not to say he shouldn't be paid extra for it, (unlike most private sector workers) but no, I don't believe someone should be able to triple their pay - even if they do have to make the occasional trip abroad in the line of their work.

Again: That's not to cast aspersions on this particular officer, who I'm sure worked hard and was paid within the rules, just that I believe those rules to be wrong in the first place.

- John, London, 04/08/2009 16:36
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As long as his pension isn't based on this figure I can live with it. These guys have a habit of binning it early so it could prove seriously expensive.

- Steve, Brentford, 04/08/2009 16:04
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Good luck to him, but he must be absolutely exhausted.

Of course, if the Police Force was allowed to recruit sufficient numbers then this amount of overtime wouldn't be needed!!!

- Peter M, London, UK, 04/08/2009 15:36
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Public money is a finite, and dwindling, resource - it needs to be accounted for properly.
I cannot see how paying someone 3 times their basic wage is doing that.
- John, London

So, he should put in the extra hours for free, then? Or perhaps we should send two cops out to wherever this guy is working, that'll save us a fortune won't it, what with the extra air fares, allowances and hotel room?
If the hours are being put in, they need to be paid for one way or the other.

- Belfast Cop, Belfast, 04/08/2009 15:16
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At the end of the day these police officers were working all the hours under the sun, and then some for their pay checks, good for them!

- Dirk Diggler, Soho, London, 04/08/2009 15:02
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Be grateful,


Yes, they are earning the money in overtime rates, but if there are not enough officers to cover the workloads then we should be thankful that these people are doing it. Putting thier safety and lives on the line every day.

and no, i am not a police officer.

- Allen, London, 04/08/2009 14:59
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Claims for overtime payments are minutely scrutinised by planners and bean counters. All overtime has to be authorised.
There is no chance that this constable was paid this money (which is more like 3 times his salary) without putting the hours in.
As someone else has correctly pointed out, if he's been on prolonged foreign assignments, it is hardly practical for him to have shared the work with colleagues hundreds or thousands of miles away.

- Belfast Cop, Belfast, 04/08/2009 14:05
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No point in blaming the officer. It's the system that's wrong. As long as we have to pay police officers to traipse around the world looking after a pair of young girls whose sole purpose appears to live the high life and party at any given opportunity, we will have to pay some officers loads of overtime.
A review of who exactly deserves the services of protection officers is long overdue. Surely ex prime ministers such as John Major are past the stage of requiring this very expensive cover.

- Scotty, Cambridge UK, 04/08/2009 13:47
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Does the Met do anything right? It seems almost as bad as Kent constabulary.

- Paul, Rochester UK, 04/08/2009 13:38
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Eduardo, I understand your desire to protect your son's, (or daughter's) profession and integrity, but you're really comparing apples to tractors.

The police do a difficult and often dangerous job so deserve to be paid well, but that doesn't mean there shouldn't be limits on what they are paid.

Bankers, (at least for the most part) are NOT paid from the public purse, so it is irrelevant what they are paid in comparison. For those bankers working for banks that HAVE been either fully or partially nationalised, then yes, they obviously should have their wages and bonuses capped too.

Public money is a finite, and dwindling, resource - it needs to be accounted for properly.

I cannot see how paying someone 3 times their basic wage is doing that.

- John, London, 04/08/2009 12:50
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"...he is a specialist protection officer who spent much of the year abroad guarding either a member of the royal family or a senior politician."

If he is abroad then there are limited opportunities for other colleagues to support him or replace him. As a result, he/she had to do a lot of overtime, which should not be a problem as there was a genuine need for the work to be done.

- Manny Goldstein, London, UK, 04/08/2009 12:16
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The police arent 'working' overtime.

they are working normal hours on the beat and logging all of the crazy paperwork, form filling pen pushing work as overtime. Its the best way for them. But it means we lose out. Its not the individual that I think is at fault but all of the pointless beaurocracy that is put in place.

- Alana Cunningham, London, 04/08/2009 12:04
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Excellent, lets see more at beat level earning hihger salaries, they deserve it. However lets drive out the compensation culture vultures that do not want to work for their money just want to winge about equal ops and discrimination.

I have no problem with direct front-end facing, good, honest hardworking coppers earning good money for hard work and keeping the public safe.

- Jo, London, 04/08/2009 12:04
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Overtime only exists in the civil service now, in the real world it has been replaced by a bonus culture with most of us working 50% or more hours per year to get a 20% or less bonus. Who's the sucker here? The guy that can fleece an overtime system or the people effectively receiving 60% less than their normal rate for overtime?

- Bob, Cheam, 04/08/2009 11:41
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Fair play the hard working copper!

- Gareth, Hackney, 04/08/2009 11:25
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Not being funny but if they are paying all this money..how come i dont see no ploice on the street patrolling??? the pub near me is full of drug dealers and chavs from thursday till sunday and not once do you see the police patrolling...because they are all doing there beat where the rich live like westminster kensingto and chelsea etc.....

- Rsaviour, london england, 04/08/2009 11:25
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I think if an officer is able to TRIPLE his salary with overtime, then then clearly there aren't enough officers to begin with.

It's not this particular officer's fault, (good luck to him, I hope he enjoys the money he earnt) but what was it comprised of? Time and a half? Double time? More in some instances?

It's hardly a prudent use of taxpayers resources is it?
Not when two officers could have been employed for less money, and quite probably have done more work, (and certainly with greater flexibility).

- John, London, 04/08/2009 11:20
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People should paid for overtime. Yes, even the police. Of course you can argue that this means that the number of police constables is too low but that's a different story...

- Ian, London, 04/08/2009 10:52
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So it's OK for bankers to get six figure bonuses for downing flutes of Krug and manipulating commodity futures but not to be paid for overtime incurred by dealing with dead bodies, accidents and mayhem and risking life and limb on a daily basis?

From the father of an officer.

- Eduardo, Belsize Park, 04/08/2009 10:43
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Should police officers not be allowed to earn overtime like other people? lets put it in perspective, there are more than 31,000 police officers in the Metropolitan Police, of the 100 that earned six figures many would be very senior officers who dont actually incur overtime. In any event 100 as a percentage of 31,000 is 0.0325%, hardly the majority!

- H, London, UK, 04/08/2009 10:27
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I dont have a problem with this. Everyone seemed to applaud the Nurse who managed to do this and yet the police is blasted. If he worked damned hard then he should get rewarded. However I dont think it is good practise to encourage overtime as it means overworked, stressed out police make mistakes.

Its all very well saying they could just employ more but its not that easy. Training and job costs are huge and so effectively it is saving the taxpayer money by having existing, hard working members of the police force working more time. BUT with provisions and a keen eye kept on the total hours logged to ensure attention is kept and mistakes dont happen.

- Alana Cunningham, London, 04/08/2009 10:26
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How much was actual overtime, and how much down to the nice little earner called Mutual Aid. If there is this much overtime available, and presuming it was paid at time and one half, why didn't Inspector Knacker employ another plod and save the tax payer £20K.

- Al, Kingstown UK, 04/08/2009 10:04
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