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Police Custody: Expenditure

Volume 474: debated on Thursday 3 April 2008

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department for how much her Department has been invoiced for costs incurred under Operation Safeguard, since the start of 2008, broken down by police force; and if she will make a statement. (197311)

I have been asked to reply.

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.