Sussex Police are spending £300,000 a year on security guards.

The cash-strapped force spend the sum to secure just three buildings across the county.

The amount is enough to put 12 qualified constables on the street.

Last night the force defended the expense, saying it would be a waste of resources to use highly-trained officers to guard the sites.

But critics said the force needs to find more imaginative ways to make sure it gets value for money - like using officers who are unable to carry out full duties to guard reception areas.

Brian Stockham, chairman of the Sussex Police Federation, which represents officers, said: “The chief constable has made it clear in terms of the pressures we are under that nothing is ruled in or ruled out.

“There are lots of officers who are not capable of full operational patrol.

“An argument in favour of that has to be seriously considered.”

Des Turner, Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown, said he was surprised the police needed security guards.

He said: “It does seem counter-intuitive.

“They may work out that it is cheaper to do it this way than employing constables’ time.

“I always feel reluctant to countenance outsourcing of any sort of sensitive public service provision like the police.”

Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show Sussex Police spent £294,700 on security between April 2008 and March 2009, and £305,704 since last April.

The force refused to reveal the locations where the security guards are employed but they are believed to include CID headquarters in Crowhurst Road, Brighton, and the force headquarters in Church Road, Lewes.

Sussex Police are facing £35m budget cuts over the next five years.

The savings are starting next month, with the planned loss of 69 officer posts and 13 staff and a 2.74% rise in the police’s share of council tax.

More job losses are expected in coming years as police aim to save between £6m and £11m annually by 2015.

Ben Duncan, of Brighton and Hove City Council’s Green group and a member of Sussex Police Authority, said the force needed to look at how it worked to try to save cash.

He said: “We really do have to review the way we are using our staff.

“If someone wants to work but isn’t capable of doing the same job as they were doing before, it does make sense.”

A spokesman for the force said: “We employ trained and properly supervised civilian security staff inside three of our non-public facing sites only, and not at any police stations.

“They are only part of our security arrangements for those sites, other elements of which obviously include physical perimeter security and CCTV.

“We believe the public would not expect us to post highly-trained police officers to patrol inside those sites at the expense of patrolling the streets.”