Murder investigation prompts Police overtime of £200k

Thursday 09 November 2017

Police worked nearly 7,000 hours of overtime in the months following the still unsolved Ana Rebelo murder investigation, Express has learned.

Mrs Rebelo – a much-loved member of the Portuguese community – was found dead in her Victoria Street home on 3 April.

A Home Office pathologist concluded that she died due to “compression to the neck by a third party.”

In an operation codenamed Gable, forensic work and searches of the property were undertaken and Police pursued more than 100 lines of enquiry in connection with the alleged murder.

Pictured: Police outside Mrs Rebelo's property in the early days of the investigation.

Seven months on, however, that investigation remains ongoing. Two men have so far been questioned by the Police, but no one has been charged.

Information obtained from an Express Freedom of Information (FOI) request has revealed the extent of the Police manpower needed to sustain the operation.

In the past six months, Police paid out £420,000 in overtime pay. Nearly half of that, however, was from the two months following Mrs Rebelo’s death alone.

In May and June, Police worked 3,477 and 3,409 hours of overtime respectively – more than double their usual amounts.

Pictured: Police overtime in the six months from May to October.

From July to October, meanwhile, monthly overtime payments were far less, varying between 1,441 (July) and 2,344 (September) hours of additional work.

“Figures for May and June are raised due to costs associated with a murder inquiry.

“For an average month, this equates to less than two hours per officer per week,” the FOI response clarified.