Northumbria Police Announces Costs of Operation Bulwark
Northumbria Police has today announced the costs to date of Operation Bulwark, the police search for Raoul Moat.
Moat shot and killed Christopher Brown and injured Samantha Stobbart in the early hours of Saturday, 3 July, 2010. He then shot and seriously injured PC David Rathband early on Sunday, 4 July.
A massive search was launched to find Moat involving hundreds of officers, both from Northumbria and many other forces, which culminated on Friday, 9 July, when he was discovered in Rothbury.
Northumbria Police have received a number of requests to make known the cost of the operation and are now in a position to do so. It should be noted however, that the costs may increase slightly due to current and future legal proceedings.
Funding was received in relation to Operation Bulwark from the Home Office amounting to £449,000. The total cost from the first shootings on 3 July until the present time is £1,411,354.
This includes;
Costs for Mutual Aid from other forces: £460,062
Northumbria Police officer and staff overtime until 11 July: £585,406
Northumbria Police officer and staff overtime from 12 July to date: £93,110
Miscellaneous* and non pay costs: £272,776
*Examples of miscellaneous costs would include; forensic science services, fuel for vehicles, specialist equipment and many other non staff costs.
Temporary Chief Constable Sue Sim Said: “This operation was unprecedented and posed significant challenges due to the terrain we had to search in and the fact that Moat was armed. He had already demonstrated that he was prepared to kill, to seriously injure and had also threatened to continue to do so. This made it even more difficult and dangerous for the officers and staff involved and firearms officers had to accompany every search.
“Our primary objective was always to protect the public and prevent anyone else from being injured. I am extremely proud of my officers and staff for the way they dealt with such a challenging situation. I am also grateful to those colleagues from other forces that helped and supported us.
“We always endeavour to ensure that, even in such challenging circumstances, we are mindful of the costs involved and I am absolutely convinced that we did so very effectively throughout this operation.”