Shropshire Star

£1 million bill for Shropshire and Mid Wales police to access phone records

Police in forces that cover Shropshire and Mid Wales have been forced to pay £1 million in the last three years to access phone records during investigations.

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Th forces have been billed by mobile phone companies for co-operating in crime or missing people inquiries.

Access can be used to show when calls and texts were made and sent, cell site searches and to reveal the location of a handset. Forces say the information provides surveillance on and removes some of the most notorious criminals off the street.

The data is also used to find missing people and prevent other from coming to harm.

Bosses at phone companies today defended their right to charge police for providing access to phone records. They said there was legislation in place to "recover reasonable costs".

Forces across the county pay the money to the Home Office, which in turns pays the communication giants.

The expenditure of £986,687 was paid to the Home Office and then on to mobile phone giants by the West Mercia Police and Warwickshire Police Force Alliance and Dyfed-Powys Police combined in just three years.

The Alliance paid £756,995 and the Welsh force paid £229,692 over the last three financial years.

Detective Superintendent Mark Loader, of West Mercia Police, said: "Accessing communications data is a vital part of many investigations, from locating missing people to tracking down suspects.

"The acquisition of communications data under the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act is a justifiable interference with an individual's human rights only if the conduct being authorised is necessary, proportionate and in accordance with law.

"The information gathered consists of where a call was made from, the number it was calling and the amount of time it was in use. It does not gather information on the conversation itself or any data within the communication, such as photos, text, audio or video."

The West Mercia and Warwickshire Alliance paid £242,171 in 2012/13. Following this year, the figures have been calculated for the police alliance, so in 2013/14, £261,930 was spent and in 2014/15 the access cost £252,894.

Barrie Sheldon, Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for West Mercia, said: "This is a really important part of modern policing and I support its use because it is a vital tool in tracking down missing people and preventing people in West Mercia from coming to harm."

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