FEW people would say that being a police officer is one of the world’s easiest jobs.

It is a calling which may involve serious threats of personal injury – though the severity of such threats depends on the nature of the place being policed – a great deal of stress, anti-social hours and, all too often, abuse from some sections of the community.

It is, therefore, clear that police officers should be suitably rewarded – but there must be sensible limits to the extent of the rewards available.

As far as Jersey is concerned, this has been realised and articulated by Home Affairs Minister Ian Le Marquand, the politician with responsibility for policing policy. Speaking at a Scrutiny panel hearing, Senator Le Marquand stated unequivocally that the Island’s force is overpaid and that the system of automatic increments based purely on time served is ‘terrible’.

Such forthright comments are seldom heard from senior members of the executive, which is perhaps indicative of the Senator’s strength of feeling on this matter. It is also true to say that his laying of cards on the table will not endear him to members of the force that he must deal with and that his life as a minister is now likely to be more fraught than if he had declined to speak out.

None of this detracts from the accuracy of the Senator’s view of the situation. By comparison with UK city centres, Jersey is a crime and public disorder backwater, but in spite of this we have managed to arrive at a point where we pay a police constable a starting salary of over £31,000. The corresponding rate in the UK is £22,680.

But the starting salary is merely the initial problem. Without any promotion as such or additional responsibilities, a Jersey constable’s pay will increase over a 12-year period by some 60 per cent, or £20,000, exclusive of new pay awards or overtime payments.

Meanwhile, retirement provisions are extremely generous in comparison with those of the vast majority of other jobs.

It is clear that a root and branch review of police pay structures, terms and conditions is now required.

As in the case of the salaries in the upper ranks of the civil service, an absurd position has been reached without anyone really being aware of how it has arisen.

It is nevertheless clear that there was foolish generosity back in the days when money was pouring into the exchequer. Now, in times of necessary austerity, we are paying the price of rash and inappropriate feather-bedding of parts of the public sector.