Officers cop a lot of cash for police work

Many Staffordshire bobbies are pocketing more than £1,000 every year in bonuses for carrying out "routine" duties, it has been revealed.

On average, the county's officers receive £1,206 each in annual bonuses for tasks such as attending car crashes, arresting criminals and dealing with bodies, it has been revealed.

Staffordshire Police's figure is the highest in the UK, according to statistics released under the Freedom of Information Act.

It compares with an average of just £273 per officer in Fife – and critics have said officers should not be paid extra simply for "doing their jobs". The Association of Chief Police Officers has said handling traumatic situations is part of an officer's role.

But the chairman of Staffordshire Police Federation, which represents rank and file officers, warned against the statistics being "blown up out of proportion".

Insp Mark Judson also pointed out the total average of £1,206 is a combined figure from two main bonus schemes.

The first, known as special priority payments, are one-off sums given to officers for carrying out traumatic work or showing a particular dedication to duty.

They are paid for things like tackling dangerous criminals, removing corpses and attending events when off-duty, and range from £50 to £500.

Other bonuses are paid out to officers who are "at the top of their game" for good performance and long service.

These are known as competence-related threshold payments and Insp Judson said an efficient system for paying the bonuses in Staffordshire may have pushed up the average bonus figure.

The most recent figures for the West Midlands force show police officers and support staff were handed a total of £478,000 in 3,802 bonus payments between April 2004 and March 2005.