According to a Plymouth Judge the Devon and Cornwall police are incompetent, following the collapse of a major criminal trial.
Judge Paul Darlow has called for a review into the mishandling of the case, saying that there had been “systemic incompetence and omission”. He also criticised the police and the Crown Prosecution Service for wasting tax payers money. A Freedom of Information Act request by one newspaper put the figure of the cost of the criminal investigation by the police at £126,568.20, with an extra £13,875.15 to cover police security at the trial.
The way the case was handled led to complaints to the Independent Police Complaints Commission and Assistant Chief Constable Bob Pennington said that a “thorough internal review” had been undertaken by Devon and Cornwall police.
Chief Supt Jim Webster said that the Devon and Cornwall Police accepted the judge's comments “in their entirety”.
Commenting on the amount of money that had been wasted by the police, MP for South West Devon Gary Streeter said:
“It is a staggering amount of money and this is what must be borne in mind by all public agencies - it's the taxpayer who picks up the tab.”
Unfortunately, even though this case took place in Devon, the Cornish tax pay will also have to bear the burden of these costs under their colonial police force. It is little wonder that the Devon and Cornwall police are raising their share of the Council Tax in Cornwall!
Source: This is Plymouth
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