£2m cost of police in abuse probe

A breakdown in some of the costs involved in the investigation into historic child abuse in Jersey has been revealed in the States.

Home Affairs Minister Andrew Lewis released the details in response to a question from Deputy Sean Power.

The ongoing investigation is into alleged abuse at the former children's home Haut de la Garenne.

From January to September, more than £3.5m was spent - £2m on police staffing, the costs reveal.

Hotel accommodation

The staffing included local staff, officers from the UK and overtime.

The police spent £600,000 on forensics, nearly £200,000 on travel, and £568,000 on hotel accommodation.

The major incident room, which served as headquarters for the investigation, cost £68,000 to set up.

Jersey Police launched the investigation into the Haut de la Garenne site abuse claims in 2006.

It became public in February 2008 when officers said they had found bone fragments, including what was believed to be part of a child's skull, but was in fact coconut.

Many victims have come forward, alleging they were abused at the home between the early 1960s and 1986.

However in November, Deputy Chief Officer David Warcup said there was no evidence anyone had been murdered.

Only three of the bone fragments found could be human - two of which were hundreds of years old, the officer said.