Sussex Police may have to raid the piggy bank to fund pay rise.

On Friday the Sussex Police & Crime Panel will receive the proposal to use some of the force’s £15m reserve to fund the 1% pay rise for all officers which was recently announced by the government.

Sussex Police is in a difficult position because it has to fund the pay rise, anticipated to be in the region of £1.5m, without any extra money from government and make savings of £26m over the next three years

The Panel will also consider a suggestion that the Specialist Crime Command, devoted to tackling cyber-crime, could be merged with other forces to make more savings although Police & Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne has previously asked for resources devoted to this increasingly common type of crime to be maintained.

The plans could see Sussex sharing even more infrastructure with Surrey, Thames Valley and Hampshire.