It’s the last thing the force needed

After the controversies of Orgreave, the Hillsborough disaster and Rotherham grooming gangs, the last thing South Yorkshire Police needed was another scandal.

But almost two years ago, that’s exactly what it got.

By that point, the force had - seemingly - clawed its way back to performing well, after being plunged into special measures as a result of the way austerity cuts had been implemented - arguably a fourth scandal in its own right.

Unlike previous problems, the new scandal had nothing to do with policing the streets - it emerged after being buried deep in the fusty world of financial book-keeping.

But its impact was devastating - a financial black hole of £65m, money not accounted for.

An external has confirmed the cash wasn’t “misappropriated” but it has exposed an alarming - and multi-layered - set of errors which allowed it to happen.

Worse still, when outside experts were able to spot “visible inconsistencies” in the force’s finances and suggested an outside investigation, that did not happen.

It came to light only because of political change - when the old Office of Police and Crime Commissioner was absorbed into the functions of the new South Yorkshire Mayor.

What does all this mean? For the public, there is little to see at present, but the impact must be felt, one way or another, because the money has to be clawed back.

Public sector budgeting and accountancy are hugely complex topics and it may be an over-simplification to say that, for the man in the street, it is similar to having a huge and unexpected credit card bill.

We now know what’s gone wrong, but we don’t really know what impact that will have on the police service the public gets.

This year, the force will spend almost £398m in total with the vast majority going on costs like wages, which give no room for savings.

The impact of an additional £65m of financial commitments is clear - however many years it is spread over.

So far, Deputy Mayor Kilvinder Vigurs - who oversees policing, has said the focus is on “ensuring policing in our region remains financially sustainable for the long-term”.

Cynical experience says that will mean savings - cuts in other words - and it would be good to know where they will come from?