Obscene Publications Squad (Hansard, 3 March 1992)

§ Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to the total cost from 1987 to 1990 of the Operation Spanner investigation by the obscene publications squad;
(2) if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to the number of occasions on which police forces other than the Metropolitan police consulted or liaised with the obscene publications squad in each year from 1987 to 1991;
(3) if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to the total running costs of the obscene publications squad in 1990 and 1991, and the projected cost in 1992;
(4) if he will call for a report from the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis as to the cost of the installation 112W of the obscene publications squad's paedophile database, the number of officers that are employed to maintain it, the number of names of persons currently listed on the database and the nature of other databases maintained by the obscene publications squad.

§ Mr. Peter Lloyd
The total and projected manpower costs of the obscene publications squad are as follows:

£

1990–91 ¹855,286

1991–92 ¹883,606

1992–93 ¹²871,302

¹ These costs cover salaries for police and civilian staff and a personnel administration charge for recruitment, training and the pay roll function. Other costs are not recorded separately.

² Estimated.

The squad does not have a computerised paedophile or other database. Two civilian staff do however maintain a manual index containing about 12,000 records. There is a close liaison between the squad and other police forces when the need arises but no record is kept of the number of times police forces consult or liaise with the obscene publications squad.
Records are not maintained in such a way that it would be possible to identify easily the costs of Operation Spanner. This information could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.

§ Mr. Chris Smith
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Metropolitan Police of the Metropolis officers appointed to the obscene publications squad, the method of application or secondments used in selecting the officers appointed, the length of time for which officers are appointed to the squad and the considerations used in determining the time limit.

§ Mr. Peter Lloyd
There are currently 18 officers, including the superintendent and detective inspector, working in the obscene publications branch. Vacancies in the branch are advertised in Metropolitan police notices.
The criteria for selection are that applicants should be mature and well balanced, and able to carry out sensitive investigation in a professional manner with a minimum of supervision.
Three years is the normal period for which Metropolitan police officers are attached to specialist units, but this is not an inflexible rule and it can be varied with an individual's suitability for the work.

	£
1990–91	¹855,286
1991–92	¹883,606
1992–93	¹²871,302
¹ These costs cover salaries for police and civilian staff and a personnel administration charge for recruitment, training and the pay roll function. Other costs are not recorded separately.
² Estimated.