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Police forces invoice in arrears for the cost of holding prisoners under Operation Safeguard.
The following table shows the amounts invoiced by police forces this year up to 27 March. Some of the costs relate to Safeguard use in 2007.
Police authority Total invoiced (£) North Wales 437,025.55 West Yorkshire 181,194.95 Leicestershire 30,766.69 Kent 288,436.77 South Yorkshire 55,076.00 Thames Valley 138,229.75 Metropolitan 1,114,133.18 Devon and Cornwall 105,281.00 Total invoiced 2,350,143.89
Police cells have been used to hold prisoners before. They were used to hold prisoners regularly from 1982 until 1993, and from 1994-95. They were also used from July to November 2002. Their use peaked in 1988, and peaked again in 1990-92, when more than 1,000 prisoners a night were being regularly held in police cells.