Counting the cost of paying police informants
fifth highest out of the 27 forces which responded.
It is also more than treble the payments made by its smaller neighbour, Durham Constabulary, over the same period.
Northumbria’s expenditure, however, has gradually fallen since 2014 from a high of £185,550 in 2014-15 to a low of £102,810 in 2018-19.
A spokesperson for the forceinsistedthatmoneypaid to informants was “closely scrutinised”.
They added: “The use of informants is just one tactic adopted by police forces acrossthecountrytohelpprotect communities.
“Theintelligenceprovided helps prevent and solve the most serious of crimes and bring offenders to justice.
“This is a well-established and highly regulated tactic with the money paid to informantscloselyscrutinised.”
Durham Constabulary, which have still to comment, spent £193,193 over the 201419 period.
Theirfigureshavealsofallen
in that time from a high of £43,667 in 2014-15 to £29,287 in 2018-19.
Cleveland Police, which spent £77,412 over the same period, have seen payments drop in from £17,000 in 201415 to £14,845 in the last financial year.
The figures show that the Metropolitan Police were the highestspenderswithinformants receiving £4,363,226 over the past five years. North Wales Police spent the lowest amount, just under £55,000, during the same period.
Eighteen forces failed to provide details of their expenditure in response to the FoI request.
A spokesperson from Taxpayers’ Alliance said: “It is critical that there is transparency in how taxpayers’ money is spent, even in the murky world of crime-fighting.
“All bodies, including the police, ought to be aware of the public interest in knowing where their cash is being spent, especially given that taxpayers are being asked to payrecordamountsthisyear.”