A former chief constable is being sued by the police force where he used to work in a bid to recover £85,000 in 'golden handcuffs ' payments he received for staying in his job . Roger Baker was employed by Essex Police on a salary of £139,000 , but bonuses and expenses took his total pay above £200,000 a year . The payments included £85,000 to reward him for staying at the force - but the area 's police commissioner now disputes these bonuses , and has launched a legal challenge to claw them back . Mr Baker was chief constable of Essex Police between 2005 and 2009 , when he left the force with a £60,000 bonus for three months ' work . Row : Roger Baker , left , was paid £85,000 by Essex Police in a 'golden handcuffs ' deal which is now being challenged by police commissioner Nick Alston , right . He went on to work for Her Majesty 's Inspectorate of Constabulary , the police watchdog , where he was responsible for monitoring 'value for money ' in police forces around the country . The 56-year-old former policeman is now a director at Colchester Hospital , paid £11,000 a year for working four days out of every month . Mr Baker was deputy chief constable of North Yorkshire police before moving to Essex , where he forged a reputation as an advocate of 'bobbies on the beat ' . He became known for controversial policies such as banning officers from wearing sunglasses when they talked to the public , and was criticised in a report because he insisted on sending an officer to the scene of every single reported crime . Roger Baker gained a reputation as an outspoken advocate of beat policing during his time as chief constable of Essex Police - but officials accused him of wasting taxpayers ' money on needless intervention . The 56-year-old spent 32 years as a police officer , starting his career in Derbyshire before becoming assistant chief constable of Staffordshire Police and deputy chief constable of North Yorkshire Police . In 2005 , he was appointed as the top officer in Essex , where he courted controversy with his traditionalist brand of policing . Mr Baker instructed officers to interview everyone who claimed to be a victim of a crime , rather than simply giving them a reference number , and also targeted low-level criminality such as vandalism . After the police watchdog said that attending every crime scene 'is not always necessary and can be time-consuming ' , Conservative MPs stood up for Mr Baker 's unconventional methods . He retired from the force in July 2009 , and soon took a new job with Her Majesty 's Inspectorate of Constabulary , where he monitored police forces for whether or not they were providing value for money . Mr Baker then led a review of police relationships with the media and other external bodies , before stepping down from HMIC last year . The area 's now-defunct police authority is understood to have given Mr Baker three payments totalling £85,000 to reward him for his loyalty to the force . In total , he was paid around £150,000 in bonuses and expenses for his last 15 months of work at Essex Police . Essex police and crime commissioner Nick Alston claimed in 2013 that Mr Baker 's 'golden handcuffs ' deal fell outside payment regulations set by the Home Secretary . He said today : ' I have continued to progress this matter robustly , always seeking to achieve a resolution that is in the best interests of the people of Essex . ' I can confirm that I have now commenced legal proceedings to seek to recover £85,000 plus interest from Mr Baker . 'As legal proceedings are now active , I am unable to say anything further about this specific case . ' Mr Baker was unavailable to comment on the controversy . Last month , it emerged that the former chief constable of Cleveland Police would be able to keep the vast majority of a £500,000 bonus pot which the force claimed had been wrongly paid to him . Sean Price agreed to repay just £23,000 despite being sacked from his job after lying about the recruitment of the former police authority chairman 's daughter . In 2013 , North Yorkshire 's police commissioner was forced to abandon her attempt to reclaim £100,000 in allowances paid to the force 's former chief constable and his deputy . The pay of chief police officers is now being investigated for the first time by the Senior Salaries Review Body , which provides independent advice to the Government .
Roger ##croft uses ' retention payments ' totalling £ 85,000 to persuade him to remain at Essex Police . the police now believes the bonuses were illegal and is suing him . After retiring , Baker was in charge of investigating police ' value for hire '