I AM a serving police officer with almost 26 years experience. Over the past two weeks or so I have endured articles and comments in various newspapers about what is to be done about police pensions.

Newspapers have commented over the 'nice little earner' (as one national called it) without mentioning the full facts.

Now we have our own chief constable, David Kenworthy, jumping on the bandwagon (June 8). There's nothing like a stab in the back to increase morale is there?

Let's get one thing straight, police officers pay 11 per cent of their wages towards their pension, and there are no contributions made by their employer.

Where does this money go? Not to a pension fund. Over the years this money has been mis-managed by being ploughed back into the central budget to pay for other things which under-budgeting by each successive government has failed to meet. How long has this been going on?

Now that police authorities are having to use that money for what it was intended, police officers' pensions, they are bellyaching about it and feeding the public with misinformation in a bid to disguise their own failings.

In addition, North Yorkshire police have the third lowest number of officers per 1,000 head of population out of 43 police forces, with one of the best crime detection rates in the country. Could this hard work explain the high number of officers retiring on ill-health pensions? They will have also had to satisfy a police doctor of their condition before retiring on such grounds.

How about the truth for once? I will have earned my pension after 30 years service, and paid for it without any help from the Government or the police service. I intend to enjoy it without any feeling of guilt.

Name and address supplied