Stretched police forces pay some coppers twice their salary in overtime payments, new figures show
Extra hours claimed by police officers was up 14 per cent from last year leaving taxpayers paying out £134million
STRETCHED police forces paid some of their officers double their salary in overtime payments, new figures have revealed.
Police worked a total of 216,000 days in overtime last year - up 14 per cent from the previous 12 months.
It cost taxpayers £134 million - enough to pay the salaries of more than 3,300 extra police officers.
Some officers at Gwent Police earned £36,000 extra in overtime payments - while officers in other forces picked up more than £20,000 extra.
The most overstretched police forces were West Midlands, Gwent and South Wales.
The figures - released in a Freedom of Information request from the Lib Dems - sparked calls for the Government to recruit more officers to save taxpayers’ money and to avoid problems caused by overworked police officers.
Lib Dem home affairs chief Sir Ed Davey said: “Cuts to police numbers have left a force that is overstretched and overworked.
“The impact is being felt on our streets where police visibility has all but disappeared.
“This has led to a horrific increase in knife crime in the capital and a rise in violent crime across the country.
“The police work tirelessly to keep us safe but this level of overtime work is neither healthy or sustainable.
“If the Government don’t fund our police properly, they leave us all at risk.”
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