Suspended police costing State $31m annually

National Security Minister Stuart Young said government’s policy is that the Commissioner of Police should act within the ambit of the law when addressing the issue of suspended police officers.

He was responding to a question posed in the Senate by Opposition Senator Wade Mark on Thursday, which asked what action the State was taking to address hundreds of suspended police officers who were costing approximately $50 million annually.

Young said, according to figures from the CoP, 292 police officers of various ranks were on suspension, at an annual cost of $31,526,163.12, not $50 million, as at October 31, 2020.

“Tribunals have been setup by the TTPS and it is liaising with judiciary to have matters before the court to be dealt with expeditiously. I remind the Senate and the public that under the Constitution, it is the CoP who has full administrative authority of all to do with the TTPS.”