Big Olympics cost for North Yorkshire Police (From Gazette & Herald)

Big Olympics cost for North Yorkshire Police

8:51am Thursday 11th October 2012 in News By Jennifer Bell, jennifer.bell@thepress.co.uk

POLICE chiefs in North Yorkshire could face a £215,000 overtime headache – with the cost of the Olympics being blamed.

North Yorkshire Police has revealed it is currently on course to exceed its budget for additional hours worked by officers in 2012/13, despite having put measures in place to cut down on the bill.

Figures which have gone before North Yorkshire Police Authority show the latest forecasts for the force’s financial performance this year. They estimate overtime costs would reach £2.154 million, with its budget for this area being £1.939 million.

A report said the cost of providing officers to help police the Olympics and the Paralympics this summer, as well as ensuring safety when the Olympic torch relay passed through the region, had contributed to the predicted overspill.

North Yorkshire Police hopes to draw in just over £1 million in “mutual aid”, paid to forces which provide assistance in other parts of the UK, with a claim being made to the Home Office.

The report by the police authority’s business partner, Moira Hopwood, said the amount claimed by the force would depend on the actual hours worked by its officers during the Games, full details of which have yet to be confirmed.

Last year, The Press reported how rigorous overtime rules had been put in place within North Yorkshire Police amid Government funding cuts, with tighter controls on the authorisation of extra hours.

However, the London riots and changes to the force control room subsequently put additional strain on the force’s overtime budget.

The latest financial report for the police authority also said a £181,000 overspend on supplies and services was currently being predicted and the Olympics had played a part in this.

“The forecast includes an estimate of North Yorkshire Police’s share of the regional cost of the Olympic torch relay during June and the indirect or consequential Olympic-related expenditure arising,” the report says.

“In particular, this relates to providing services in York, Harrogate and Scarborough and the purchase of personal-issue long batons and dog police support unit kits.”

The report said the force wanted to ensure North Yorkshire residents “do not suffer detriment” because of the need to provide policing cover for the Games.