The cost of Julian Assange
Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2013 7:18 pm
Perhaps like many of you I read the other week that the Metropolitan Police had published the 'up to date costs' they had incured in guarding the Ecuadorean Embassy in case our friend Mr Assange tries to do a runner. Not quite sure why the Police decided to release this info as the bill will no doubt be paid from Home Office funds, (this story just don't smell right).
Again like you I read that this cost had now reached ?2.3 million plus ?600,000 in overtime (overtime!!!!) which covers the 8 months that JA had been in sanctuary.
What disapointed me was that no newspaper broke down the details of these costs, or perhaps the Police wouldn't give them a breakdown in case the figures were questioned. Lets see who's the guilty party, JA for for breaking parole or the Police for over egging the cake.
So I thought I should do the maths. All I have to go on is the Police bill of 2.3mil + 600thou over 8 months, the rest is guesswork.
1. How many Police are used? Lets say 5 per shift x 8 hours x 3 shifts, thats 15 officers per day (not sure how to factor in coffee or lunch breaks, perhaps a whole new tean turns up to cover these breaks and this is where the overtime comes in).
2. Senior Officer, Sergeant or PC? No way should they need a senior officer to head up each team per shift, but I bet they use a Sergeant per each shift. I'm also assuming they have a vehicle and driver on standbye so that if an arrest is made they can whisk him off smartish. So thats 1 sergeant, 1 Driver anf 3 PC's per shift x 3 shifts per day, a total of 15 officers per day.
3. Who gets paid what? The Met pay scales for a PC with 2 years service is ?33,000, I have assumes that there may be a mix of junior and senior PC's on the team so have used a salary of ?45,000, I have used ?55,000 for the Sergeant's and the Drivers. These figures should well cover all saleries, uniforms, none-contributory pensions plus coffee and donuts.
4. So what does this calculate out to.?
9 PC's per day @?45,000pa x 8 months,...............?270,000.
3 Sgt's per day @?55,000pa x 8 months,..............?110,000.
3 Drv's perday @ ?55,000pa x 8 months,..............?110,000.
Thats a total of ?490,000 and not ?2,900,000, which means one of four things.
1, My lack of understanding of whats involved in conducting this operation.
2, A Police lack of understanding in whats involved in conducting this operation.
3, A big problem with my maths.
4, An even bigger problem with the Police maths.
OVER 8 MONTHS ?2,900,000 PAYS FOR (average of ?50k pa) 87 POLICE OFFICERS PER DAY.
Please tell me my maths are wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Again like you I read that this cost had now reached ?2.3 million plus ?600,000 in overtime (overtime!!!!) which covers the 8 months that JA had been in sanctuary.
What disapointed me was that no newspaper broke down the details of these costs, or perhaps the Police wouldn't give them a breakdown in case the figures were questioned. Lets see who's the guilty party, JA for for breaking parole or the Police for over egging the cake.
So I thought I should do the maths. All I have to go on is the Police bill of 2.3mil + 600thou over 8 months, the rest is guesswork.
1. How many Police are used? Lets say 5 per shift x 8 hours x 3 shifts, thats 15 officers per day (not sure how to factor in coffee or lunch breaks, perhaps a whole new tean turns up to cover these breaks and this is where the overtime comes in).
2. Senior Officer, Sergeant or PC? No way should they need a senior officer to head up each team per shift, but I bet they use a Sergeant per each shift. I'm also assuming they have a vehicle and driver on standbye so that if an arrest is made they can whisk him off smartish. So thats 1 sergeant, 1 Driver anf 3 PC's per shift x 3 shifts per day, a total of 15 officers per day.
3. Who gets paid what? The Met pay scales for a PC with 2 years service is ?33,000, I have assumes that there may be a mix of junior and senior PC's on the team so have used a salary of ?45,000, I have used ?55,000 for the Sergeant's and the Drivers. These figures should well cover all saleries, uniforms, none-contributory pensions plus coffee and donuts.
4. So what does this calculate out to.?
9 PC's per day @?45,000pa x 8 months,...............?270,000.
3 Sgt's per day @?55,000pa x 8 months,..............?110,000.
3 Drv's perday @ ?55,000pa x 8 months,..............?110,000.
Thats a total of ?490,000 and not ?2,900,000, which means one of four things.
1, My lack of understanding of whats involved in conducting this operation.
2, A Police lack of understanding in whats involved in conducting this operation.
3, A big problem with my maths.
4, An even bigger problem with the Police maths.
OVER 8 MONTHS ?2,900,000 PAYS FOR (average of ?50k pa) 87 POLICE OFFICERS PER DAY.
Please tell me my maths are wrong!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!