 POLICE chiefs on Merseyside have spent more than £500,000 on “lost wages” to officers told to stay at home while suspended from duty. In the past three years, Merseyside officers have spent 6,299 days on suspension, with several spending more than two years on “gardening leave.” The most paid out was to Greg O’Leary, the corrupt officer from Allerton subsequently jailed for 3½ years after admitting selling police secrets to underworld criminals. The 40-year-old was jailed last year but not before spending 774 days on full pay while suspended. The new figures have been revealed as a result of an inquiry under the Freedom of Information Act. They come at a time when Merseyside Police is trying to raise extra cash to pay for 200 extra officers for Capital of Culture and last night prompted calls for a review of how cases of impropriety at investigated. O’Leary’s suspension cost the force £72,432.74 in salary – the largest single suspension in a £525,844 bill over three years. That equated to 6,299 lost days for the force, which spends millions a year on overtime. The Tax Payer’s Alliance, which fights for better use of public funds, yesterday called the bill “a staggering waste”. O’Leary’s case is not the only one which stretched over more than a year. In another case, an officer was suspended for 648 days, at a cost of £52,437, while another was put on gardening leave for 453 days, at a cost of just under £42,000. In another case, £35,889 was paid to an officer told to stay at home for 509 days. The shortest suspension was for 19 days, and cost £1,280. Merseyside Police said it tried to solve complaints within 120 days. There were 22 cases in total. Southport MP John Pugh, a former member of the Merseyside Police Authority, said: “I think these figures demand proper answers, and I trust the Merseyside Police Authority will be asking for them. “This is a classic example of a situation the Home Office, with police forces, needs to review as a matter of urgency to try and save money. One thing that should be looked at is the possibility of trying to get the wages back from officers who are subsequently convicted. “The police obviously deal with many complaints, some of which are malicious, but they can usually be spotted very quickly. In many cases, the evidence doesn’t change from the beginning to the end. I don’t see the need for people to be suspended for so long.” | 
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