£2m bill to hold prisoners in police stations

Dec 24 2007 by David Higgerson, Liverpool Daily Post

MORE than £2m of taxpayers’ money has been spent housing convicted criminals in police cells because Merseyside and Cheshire’s jails were too full, the Daily Post can reveal.

Last night, the Government was criticised for failing to take account of the fact that the hundreds of new laws it has introduced since 1997 would lead to a shortage of prison places.

Since last August, Cheshire Police has received £1.7m to house inmates supposed to be inside prisons, while Merseyside Police received £427,000.

The Daily Post revealed earlier this year that the Home Office, which has since transferred responsibility for prisons to the new Ministry of Justice, was paying between £385 and £400 per cell to house prisoners – more than the cost of the top suite at Liverpool’s Malmaison Hotel.

Based on that nightly cost, Cheshire Police received enough money to provide 4,529 cell nights over the last 18 months, while Merseyside will have provided 1,111.

Only the Metropolitan Police in London received more money than Cheshire. Nationally, £29m has been spent.

According to the Ministry of Justice, Cheshire Police currently has around 30 cells available for use under Operation Safeguard, the emergency plan introduced by ministers when they realised they were running out of prison cells.

Last night, Southport MP John Pugh said: “When you go around introducing dozens of new laws every year, it should be very obvious that you will need more prison places.

“But this seemed beyond the Government, and as a result we have a ridiculous situation where police cells are being hired out for more than most people pay for a hotel suite.

“It is a complete waste of money, especially when you consider that the same department has repeatedly declined Merseyside’s request for extra funding in 2008.”

Tory Nick Herbert, shadow prisons minister, said: “It has become common-place to suggest that prison should be reserved for serious, persistent or violent offenders.

“But already the largest single offence category of prisoners is violent offenders, 27% of the prison population, and this is growing as a proportion of the prison population. At least half the prison population are violent or sexual offenders.

“ The £29m spent on placing criminals in police cells is enough to build a jail for over 250 prisoners.”

A spokesman for the Prison Officers’ Association said: “To us, it is a complete waste of taxpayers’ money.

“The problem is caused by overcrowding in prisons, but the problem was foreseeable.”

The Government last night insisted it was addressing the problem, pointing to the new 350-place jail – HMP Kennet – at Ashworth Hospital due to open next year.

A spokesman for the Police Federation said: “We need to know how much longer this is going to go on for. Resources are stretched to the limit.

“Police cells are not intended to house prisoners long-term and are not fit for purpose”

But Home Office minister Tony McNulty said: “Operation Safeguard has been well executed by police forces and it has not, to date and to my knowledge, impinged on the operational ability of the forces involved.”

OPINION: PAGE 10

davidhiggerson