Croydon police lose 400 pieces of equipment at a cost of £11k
FROM handcuffs to helmets, hundreds of pieces of police equipment were lost in Croydon in just four months – costing taxpayers almost £11,000.
Officers mislaid almost 400 items of "personal safety equipment" between March and June this year.
And the bill for replacing each piece of kit was met by the force, not the officers responsible for losing them.
Figures released under the Freedom of Information Act show 189 shirts costing a combined total of £642 had to be replaced.
The borough's 670 officers also managed to lose more than 100 pairs of trousers.
With packs of two costing just under £20 this added up to a bill of around £1,060.
In April a pair of handcuffs were mislaid, costing the force £12.98, and a replacement anorak and shirt landed the force with an £86.53 bill.
One officer lost his "public protection helmet" and a replacement cost £123.68 in the same month.
The Advertiser asked for a six-month breakdown from Croydon police of exactly what was lost and how much it cost.
This was deemed to be too expensive to provide, so figures were only provided for four months.
On top of lost kit, the Advertiser was also given figures showing that 16 sets of full riot gear were ordered, costing £8,880. A full riot kit includes a shield and protective helmet.
The Metropolitan Police include anoraks, trousers, jackets and flat caps in an officer's personal safety equipment.
One officer put in an order in May for three shirts, a pair of trousers, a jumper, a pullover and an anorak to be replaced, which had all been lost.
Croydon Superintendent Dave Stringer defended the huge bill for replacing lost clothes, stating that his officers needed to present themselves in a "smart and professional way as the public expects".
He added: "There are around 670 officers in Croydon who need equipment to carry out various roles, not only for the borough, but if and when they assist in public order policing at major events across London."
Supt Stringer added that any replacement request has to be authorised by an inspector or sergeant to ensure it is genuine.
2 Comments
by Fruitbat, South Norwood
Friday, September 03 2010, 10:24PM
“....... well said - but this rag loves a story to have a go at the old bill !”
by Croydon Resident, Croydon
Friday, September 03 2010, 9:11PM
“How much money have Croydon Police wasted compiling these statistics for the Advertisers pathetic Freedom of Information Requests? Police officers regularly need new uniform because it gets covered in blood from dealing with assault victims. Trousers get ripped when rolling around on the floor trying to detain people. I suggest the author gets some statistics as to how much money is wasted asking Supt Stringer to answer your stupid questions instead of dealing with real police matters. Pretty poor journalism when there's far more important things going on in the borough!”