Ian McPherson Chief Constable of Norfolk, 2007-present

Official salary (Sept 2007) £126,006

Taxable income (2007-08) £200,000-£211,000

Sept 08 officer strength 1,647

Norfolk Constabulary is a small force covering a large rural area, yet its Chief Constable earned more than £200,000 in 2007-08.

Ian McPherson was much better paid than the four assistant commissioners in the Metropolitan Police, some of whom carry national responsibilities (eg, for counter-terrorism) as well as facing the demands of policing the capital.

He joined Norfolk after little more than a year as deputy chief in North Yorkshire. His taxable pay for 2007-08 included a substantial relocation package, including stamp duty on a new home.

The police authority in Norwich offered an attractive financial package to secure his services. Stephen Bett, the chairman of Norfolk Police Authority, refused to go into detail on Mr McPherson’s remuneration, but confirmed that it included paying stamp duty.

Mr Bett said: “In a bid to attract and retain officers of high calibre to an area of the country that ill-informed people like Jeremy Clarkson think of as a ‘flat backwater’, we need to put together a package of pensionable pay, market supplements and ancillary benefits that attracts high-calibre officers.”

Mr Bett said his authority was among a minority that paid top-ups to chiefs, but claimed Mr McPherson had made Norfolk one of the safest places in the country and that the authority would do its utmost to keep him.

Sir Norman Bettison, Chief Constable of West Yorkshire, 2006-present

Official salary (Sept 2007): £156,807

Taxable income 2007-08: £210,000-£220,000

Sept 08 officer strength: 5,864

In 2007-08 Sir Norman Bettison earned more than the Deputy Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police, who, on paper, is the second-highest earning policeman in the country.

The accounts of the West Yorkshire Police Authority reveal that one officer was paid more than £210,000 in taxable income — more than £50,000 above the nationally published salary for the chief constable’s job.

The authority confirmed that Sir Norman “received a locally agreed package in addition to the salary and allowances set nationally”. It is not the first time that his remuneration has attracted controversy. In 2004 he retired as Merseyside Chief Constable to become chief executive of a policing quango known as Centrex. Sir Norman picked up a police pension to which he was entitled in addition to his Centrex salary. In 2006, when he returned to policing in West Yorkshire, the police authority in Merseyside stopped paying his pension.

A police authority spokesman said: “This package is unique to Sir Norman and reflects his exceptional experience and abilities, his significant national responsibilities and the exceptional demands currently placed upon the force and its chief constable.”

The authority added that Sir Norman’s circumstances were “very unusual”.

Roger Baker Chief Constable of Essex, 2005-09

Salary (Sept 07): £137,211

Highest paid officer in force 2007-08: £190,000-£200,000

Sept 08 officer strength: 3,447

Roger Baker is known as a “no-nonsense copper”, but has been strangely reticent to talk about his pay and perks.

In 2007 Essex Police Authority was so desperate to keep him in post, it took legal advice about paying over and above his salary. He had served 30 years and was eligible for retirement on a police pension.

The authority resolved to pay him “an annual retention package by way of a lump sum”. Local newspapers reported that Mr Baker had received a £25,000-a-year “golden handcuffs” deal — a claim that was not denied.

Examination of the police authority accounts suggest that his additional payments may have been at a higher level. The taxable income paid to an unspecified officer in 2007-08 was more than £50,000 higher than the salary set in national pay negotiations. Mr Baker announced his sudden resignation earlier this year and stepped down this week.

His deputy becomes temporary chief for six months and the job will be advertised, presumably, at the current national salary level of £148,194.

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