West Midlands Police pay £1m to informants

The hefty fees splashed out in a bid to crack down on the criminal underworld have been revealed under freedom of information laws, and the region's Police and Crime Commissioner believes that paying criminals for information is an 'essential tactic' in tackling organised crime.

In total, £1,002,834 has been spent on informants by the force since 2011. The most spent in a year was £283,744, which was forked out between 2011 and 2012. Last year £198,698 was spent on informants, while £161,415 was spent between 2014 and 2015.

A hefty £182,152 was spent between 2013 and 2014, narrowly more than the previous year, when £180,825 was splashed out on informants.

David Jamieson, West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, insists it spending the cash is a useful tactic, despite the force having faced budget cuts of £130 million since 2010, one of the biggest cuts in the country.

He said: "We keep oversight of this sensitive area and work closely with the force.

"Policing the West Midlands is a difficult task that requires a variety of tactics. This is an essential tactic in the fight against organised crime."

Ronnie Howard, a former police undercover detective insists using informants can be more cost effective than other policing methods. Using the example of somebody possessing illegal goods, he said: "I then go and take out a search warrant and find the goods. It's cost us absolutely nothing in policing costs. There has been no expensive surveillance. It's an extremely cheap way to tackle crime."

West Mercia Police spent nearly £230,000 in the past five years for tip-offs on crimes while Staffordshire Police paid out around £380,000.