§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on what date his Department asked individual police forces to provide information to his Department on the costs involved in investigating alleged miscarriages of justice; when this information was received by his Department; and what costs(a) to individual forces and (b) in total were revealed by analysis of the returns. [19741]
§ Mr. Nicholas Baker[holding answer 18 April 1995]: Information was requested on a sample of 16 cases from 11 police forces in January 1995. Replies were received in respect of seven cases, the most recent on 30 March. The estimated total costs of the inquiries undertaken in each of these seven cases was as follows:
Estimated total costs £ Case 1: Avon and Somerset constabulary 5,541.02 Case 2: Lancashire constabulary 570.04 Case 3: Northumbria police 3,113.02 Case 4: Devon and Cornwall constabulary 122,386.28 Case 5: West Midlands police 98,610 Case 6: West Midlands police 18,072 Case 7: Greater Manchester police 192,913 It is not possible to estimate the overall costs of miscarriage of justice investigations to the police service or to individual forces.