Dorset Police Overtime Budget Overspend: Causes, Context and Implications

In a recently published Freedom of Information (FOI) disclosure, Dorset Police revealed that during the 2024/25 financial year, the force overspent its overtime budget by a substantial margin — a trend closely watched by councillors, residents and public finance watchdogs alike.

What the Figures Show

Under the FOI response (ref: 01/FIN/25/004126/W), Dorset Police reported the following for 2024/25:

Budget allocated for overtime: £3,832,582

Actual spent on overtime: £4,352,343

This means the force exceeded its overtime allocation by roughly £519,761, or about 13.6% beyond what had been budgeted.

Importantly, the disclosure also noted that Dorset Police cannot currently identify how much of this overtime was spent on specific categories of work (such as criminal vs non-criminal functions), because that breakdown isn’t separately recorded in their financial systems.
Why Does Overtime Overspend Matter?

Overtime in policing is a normal part of operations: officers work beyond contracted hours to staff shifts, cover for absences (including sickness or vacancies), or attend major or unexpected events. This pay is an essential part of workforce flexibility — but when costs exceed budgets, it can signal deeper operational or staffing pressures.

There are several reasons why a force might overspend its overtime budget:

Understaffing or high sickness rates, leading to increased reliance on overtime to maintain daily policing cover.

Demand pressures, such as policing public events, protests, or incidents requiring long hours or additional deployments.

Unplanned or major operations, which can suddenly pull resources and push overtime costs beyond forecasts.

Shortfalls in recruitment or delays filling vacancies, meaning gaps must be filled with overtime rather than regular contracted work.

Without adequate controls and forecasting, overtime expenditure can become unpredictable and contribute to budgetary strain. While overtime is a flexible tool, overspends must be managed to protect frontline services and other policing priorities.

Wider Budgetary Pressures in Policing

Dorset’s overtime overspend sits within the broader financial landscape of policing, which has faced ongoing challenges in recent years. Although Dorset Police receives funding from Government grants and local council tax precepts, forces across the UK have repeatedly cited tight budgets and rising demand, particularly after pandemic-era pressures and inflationary cost increases.

Many police forces — nationally and locally — have struggled to balance budgets as pay negotiations, recruitment drives, and operational demands evolve. In some cases elsewhere in the UK, audit reports have found police overtime budgets overspent by hundreds of thousands of pounds before and have recommended stronger controls and clearer guidance around authorising overtime.
What Happens Next? Budget Control and Oversight

Overspending a budget line like overtime doesn’t automatically trigger formal sanctions — but it does require mitigation. Police finance teams normally monitor expenditure through regular reporting to senior leadership and to oversight bodies such as Police and Crime Panels. These bodies can question variances and press for corrective actions or revised budgeting assumptions in future years.

Strategies to address overtime overspending might include:

Improving workforce planning and rostering to minimise reliance on overtime.

Recruitment and retention efforts, reducing the need to plug staffing gaps.

More detailed financial tracking of overtime by function, which Dorset Police’s disclosure noted isn’t currently available.

Engagement between the force and the Police and Crime Commissioner, who sets budget allocations aligned with policing priorities.

Conclusion

The FOI disclosure on Dorset Police’s overtime budget highlights a clear case where planned expenditure fell short of operational realities. An overspend of more than half a million pounds isn’t insignificant — and, when viewed alongside national trends in policing budgets, reflects the ongoing challenge forces face in balancing efficient financial management with the unpredictable demands of public safety.

For the public and policymakers alike, transparency about these figures is a vital step toward ensuring both accountability and sustainable policing services.