POLICE have paid an “extortionate” £1.5 million to mobile phone operators in the last three years to access phone records during investigations, it has emerged.

The expenditure, at a time when thousands of police officers and staff are facing job cuts, was uncovered by The Bolton News under the Freedom of Information Act.

Greater Manchester Police paid £488,208.60p to phone networks in 2007/08, falling to £474,646 in 2008/09, then rising again to £615,080.50p in 2009/10.

The total paid over the last three years is £1,578,535.10p.

Greater Manchester Police Federation chair Chris Burrows said: “I don’t think we have any choice but to do it, because it’s the only way to detect a crime.

“It removes some of the most undesirable characters from our streets, but what we need to be asking is why the mobile phone companies charge so much.”

Police access to mobile phone networks falls into two categories — records of phone usage, which can show when calls were made and text messages were sent, and cell site searches, which can reveal the location of a handset.

The force is currently facing a two-year recruitment freeze, which chiefs estimate will cost 1,500 of their 8,000 officers and 1,600 of their 4,000 civilian staff.

Ass Chief Const Garry Shewan said: “Detectives always need to carry out a number of inquiries first, and need the approval of a senior officer to access phone records.”

Police authority chairman Cllr Paul Murphy said: “Greater Manchester Police Authority members are satisfied the annual amounts which are spent by the force in this area are entirely proportionate to the volume of and seriousness of the cases which are investigated.”

The Bolton News contacted the UK’s four largest networks, Vodafone, Orange, T-Mobile and O2.

An O2 spokesman said: “It is reasonable and fair for communication companies like ourselves to recover these costs.”

A Vodafone spokesman added: “Our dedicated specialist team is on call 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, to help police with crime prevention and detection.”

A T-Mobile spokeswoman said: “We are required by the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 to provide information and cooperate with the police in any investigation. "Our fees cover only the cost incurred and we do not make any profit from this. "We are transparent with the Home Office and the police forces regarding our costs."

A spokesman for Orange added: “We work very closely with the police and employ a specialist team to ensure we are able to lawfully disclose data in relation to police investigations.”