A POLICE unit is to be set up because of fears that recession-hit officers in Lancashire face a ‘real’ threat of corruption.

Lancashire Constabulary wants to spend around £300,000 setting up the special team to investigate other officers.

The chairman of the county’s Police Federation said there had been an increase in officers and staff being declared bankrupt or falling into financial difficulty as a result of the global recession.

Welcoming the plans for the team, John O’Reilly said those officers were at risk of being targeted by people involved in organised crime who were prepared to take on their debt in exchange for sensitive, personal or private information.

Burnley MP Kitty Ussher, who also supported the plans, said she was ‘deeply disturbed’ to hear of possible corruption in the police force.

She said there was ‘no excuse’ for any officer trading in sensitive material, and highlighted a range of other avenues of support.

Details of the scheme to set up the seven-man team are included in the Blueprint 2010/11 report into the finances of the force.

According to the report, difficult financial circumstances not only increase the potential for members of staff to take on inappropriate business interests which are not declared, but also puts members of staff at risk of becoming vulnerable to approaches from criminals.

It describes the threat of corruption as being ‘very real’ and said that the Professional Standards Department had highlighted concerns around their capacity to deal with intelligence and anti-corruption within the organisation.

Mr O'Reilly, said: “We have had a number of police officers and members of staff being declared bankrupt which was once an offence, but in this economic climate we are finding it can happen to people, who before this massive crash were considered solvent.

“Our officers carry a lot of personal and private information and have access to a lot of sensitive information.

"It is easy for people involved in organised crime to find out which officers are struggling financially.

“Throughout the country officers could find themselves in a position where someone involved in organised crime comes to them and offers to pay their debt in return for information.

“For that reason police officers are more vulnerable than the average member of the public, so we have to make sure they do not take those options up. Our levels of integrity need to be high.”

Mr O’Reilly told the Lancashire Telegraph there has also been an increase in the number of complaints received about officers’ business interests.

Mrs Ussher said: “I’m deeply disturbed to hear that there should be any corruption in the police force.

“However hard-up any individual is I have no sympathy for anybody who is selling information that should be used to combat crime.

"No serving police officer has any excuse whatsoever to trade in sensitive material.

“I’m absolutely shocked that this is taking place and think the public would be as well but I’m delighted that people are taking steps to deal with it.”

A sum of £288,995 has been identified to ‘manage the threat’ and would pay for six detective constables on £42,700 each, totalling £256,200, plus a police staff systems analyst at £32,795. Similar action is being taken in similar forces.

Malcom Doherty, chairman of the police authority, said the issue was being taken seriously to protect the force from the risk of corruption.

He said the planned action was also a preventative measure to protect the the public.

Mr O’Reilly said any officer who comes to them in finacial difficulty is referred to a financial advisor.

But Mrs Ussher said there were plenty of other avenues for officers and any other members of the public in financial difficulty.