Sussex Police has paid out almost £900,000 in civil claims in the past seven years.

But the years when some claimants, including unscrupulous villains, considered all forces as "soft touches" for suing appear to be ending.

The formation of a Sussex Police Civil Claims Unit, to "robustly defend" the force when no liability exists, has gone a long way to dispel the soft image.

Payments reached a peak in 1994 when £387,000 was paid to settle 88 compensation claims.

The figure has steadily decreased and so far this financial year the force has paid out £120,000.

Recent claims have been for false imprisonment, unlawful arrest, negligence, and property damage.

In a report out today, Chief Constable Paul Whitehouse said force

policy was to settle on the best terms as quickly as possible to avoid expensive legal costs and adverse publicity.

But he added: "If no liability exists, the policy is to refute and robustly defend any such claim. It is hoped this attitude will dispel the 'soft touch' image which existed when claims increased drastically early in the decade against police forces nationally."

Since the Civil Claims Unit was formed in 1994 to deal with the substantial increase in litigation, it has successfully repudiated or defended 55 per cent of claims.

Payments for this year are about 20 per cent down on last year, but Mr Whitehouse warned: "There are a number of expensive claims in the pipeline . . . however, it is hoped the overall costs this year will be less than the previous year."

Complaints by members of the public against

Sussex Police officers show a dramatic rise in the past four years.

There were 889 in 1996/97, compared to 1,173 last year.

In the first six months of this financial year, complaints have risen 45 per cent and currently stand at 809. The largest growth has been in alleged neglect of duty by officers.

Over the years, Sussex has recorded more complaints than most neighbouring forces: Sussex (38.8 per 100 officers), Essex (21.3), Hampshire (23.2) and Kent (22.5).

But the force has also informally resolved more complaints; 39 per cent, compared to Essex (23 per cent), Hampshire (30 per cent) and Kent (34 per cent). Earlier this month it was criticised after it came eighth from bottom in a league table of 43 forces when it came to speed of dealing with complaints.

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