A formal application has been made by Cleveland Police Authority to the Home Office for assistance with the costs of Operation Sacristy.
Operation Sacristy is an ongoing criminal and misconduct investigation currently being undertaken by police officers under the command of Keith Bristow, Head of Operation Sacristy and Director of the National Crime Agency ‘into a number of people with current or past associations with Cleveland Police Authority and the manner in which the Authority may have conducted some of its business’.
The application has been made to Rt Hon Nick Herbert MP, Minister of State for Policing and Criminal Justice, under Section 31 of the Local Government Act 2003, which has provisions for a Special Police Authority Grant to be made.
It was agreed that from 11th April 2011, Cleveland Police Authority would pay for the investigation, and costs incurred so far (to 30th November 2011) are £879,000.
There are further additional associated costs to the investigation, for example, legal advisors to the Authority and provision of support to the ACPO team through a Temporary Chief Constable and a Temporary Assistant Chief Constable whilst the suspension of Chief Constable and Deputy Chief Constable is in place. These additional costs total £105,000 (until the end of October 2011).
There is no indication of when the investigation will be completed or what the final cost will be.
Stuart Drummond, Chairman of Cleveland Police Authority said: “We fully support the investigation and understand that it must run its course, however there are significant financial implications for the Authority.
“We have therefore submitted a formal application to the Home Office for a special grant which, if approved, would assist the Authority in meeting some or all of the costs of Operation Sacristy.
“There are many financial pressures on the Authority moving forwards given the savings that have to be found under the Comprehensive Spending Review, and we are committed to not taking any money out of frontline policing budgets to pay for this investigation.
“We would therefore ask the Home Office to consider the request for financial support so that we can continue to deliver the best policing service possible to members of the public in Cleveland and we would very much welcome any support of local MPs, Councillors or the media in pressing our case to the Minister.”