Riots left police with £250k overtime bill

Cash-strapped West Midlands Police has forked out more than £250,000 on overtime for staff investigating the summer riots, it emerged today.

Officers clocked up 12-hour shifts and all leave was cancelled after unprecedented scenes of rioting and looting in Wolverhampton, West Bromwich and Birmingham.

The subsequent investigation still involves up to 50 officers who are working on identifying offenders who have not yet been caught. The cost represents 20 per cent of the force's annual £1.3 million spend on police overtime.

West Midlands Police is in the process of trying to cut costs as the impact of £126m in Government budget cuts bite.

Police Authority finance chief, councillor Bob Jones, said today: "The spending on overtime during the riots was absolutely crucial.

"The revised tactics used by West Midlands Police, where we led the country on tackling the problem, was only manageable by having the right number of professionals on the ground.

"That couldn't have been achieved without spending the money."

The August riots rocked the country, with scores of hooligans gathering to fight with police and loot businesses.

The bill for overtime resulted from the force having to deploy officers at short notice.

Officers worked 12-hour shifts instead of the usual eight, and the force had to draft in extra civilian staff to cover call handling, custody and driving. It is estimated that the cost of policing the riots is in the region of £10m.

The unprecedented scenes of disorder in August, which saw more than 600 arrests made, sparked the biggest single investigation by West Midlands Police since the IRA bombings of Birmingham in 1974.

Yobs rampaged through the streets, smashing shops and stealing thousands of pounds worth of stock.

Also included in the £10m cost is about £5m spent by the force on payments to more than 460 businesses that filed claims under the Riot Damages Act.