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Sunday March 20 ITN

One of the country's most senior police chiefs has said his officers spend just six minutes out of every hour actually fighting crime.

Chief Constable Tom Quick of Surrey Police told a newspaper his constables are weighed down by paperwork that takes up to 90 per cent of their time.

Mr Quick blamed Labour's police funding system for forcing him into keeping over-qualified officers desk-bound rather than tackling criminals.

His comments come a week after Nottinghamshire's Chief Constable, Steve Green, said his force is simply not able to cope with the number of murders in the county as he was having to keep 500 of his officers on pen-pushing duties.

Speaking to the Sunday Telegraph, Mr Quick said: "Whether it's in neighbourhood policing, in response to emergencies, or in investigation, about 32 per cent of a constable's time is pure bureaucracy.

"About another 60 per cent of what they do is what I would describe as high-volume, repetitious work which they are generally overqualified for. These are officers who are delivering front-line services."

Tue Mar 22 2005 ...... ITV

Members of the the Nottinghamshire Police Authority are holding crisis talks about the area's growing crime levels.

Chief Constable Steve Green claims his force is "struggling to cope" with a shocking rise in murders and violence.

Reports had suggested that Home Secretary Charles Clarke planned to sack Mr Green, who sparked a political row after claiming a lack of resources was forcing him to "farm out" murder investigations to other forces.

But the claims were denied by the Home Office at the weekend, who said that Mr Clarke's only aim was to ensure that Nottinghamshire Police worked effectively with or without their chief constable.

The Home Secretary announced an inquiry last week by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary into the ability of Nottinghamshire to deal with serious crime.

The inspectorate will produce a report by Monday April 4 and advise if action is necessary before then.

Mr Green came under fire from Labour MPs, such as Graham Allen, who condemned his comments and said he was "talking down" Nottingham.

Mr Green was criticised again by Victor Bates, whose wife was shot dead by armed robbers in their store in Arnold in September 2003.

He branded Mr Green a "menace to law and order" as 19-year-old Peter Williams was convicted of his wife's murder by a jury at Stafford Crown Court.

Nottinghamshire has seen a sharp rise in high-profile "category A" murders from one every 12 to 18 months before 2001 to 21 in the past four years.