A POLICE chief has defended his decision to hire a social media officer with a higher starting salary than some frontline officers, after home secretary slammed him for the move.
The Dorset Police force had advertised for a social media officer vacancy and the salary for the role is listed as £25,556, rising yearly to a maximum of £28,353. Whereas, the starting salaries of a police officer was set at £18,450.
Priti Patel, in a tweet on Tuesday (27), said taxpayers' money shouldn't be wasted on "unnecessary jobs."
She said: "We will give the police the resources they need to keep the streets safe, but they mustn't waste taxpayers' money on inflated salaries for unnecessary jobs.
"The public want more police officers & fewer social media officers."
James Vaughan, chief constable of Dorset Police, justified the salary saying the role required significant experience and expertise. He also pointed out that the starting salaries for officers, set nationally, were "too low."
In a post on the force's Twitter page, Vaughan said: "It should be noted that the role concerned, a social media serving both Dorset and Devon and Cornwall Police, requires significant experience, expertise and a degree level qualification.
"Our ability to engage a population of three million people across our three counties depends upon the employment of a small number of professional police staff in addition to the 4,200 police officers across both forces."
On the claim that the role has a larger salary than most frontline officers, he said: "It should be noted that media reporting has focused on starting salaries aimed at student officers embarking on a three-year degree apprenticeship and officers can expect their salaries to rise to just under £40,000 per annum after the completion of seven years' service."
He said the media coverage on the advertisement had raised the issue of starting salaries of police officers.
Piyush Goyal and Jonathan Reynolds tour the Royal Opera House in London
