They still fail to note who's paying for this

The BBC mention in passing about Greater Manchester Police that they have to make £143 million in savings yet manage to splurge out £100,000 on artwork for its new HQ.
BBC.

A police force which is having to find £134m of savings has spent £100,000 on artwork for its new headquarters.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP)'s new £64m head office in Newton Heath will replace its current Old Trafford base.

The two murals - costing £60,500 and £40,500 - commemorate the father of modern policing Sir Robert Peel. They will hang in the building's entrances.

The force said the pieces of work were "an integral part of the interior design and complete the building".

A spokeswoman added: "They represent the history of GMP, capture values that our staff and officers hold dear and are designed to motivate.

£100,000 of ratepayers money had better produce one hell of a lot of motivation methinks. It's yet another example of the profligacy of public services with our cash, they never seem to get it, we judge them by results, we judge them by how we are doing in the real world and we judge them by what they do, not what they say. What they do appear to be saying is sod you lot we're going to spend your cash on art for our headquarters, what they don't appear to be doing is dealing with criminal gangs running riot in Greater Manchester. (H/T Richard Carvath)

In nine months, GMP has taken no action to shut down the Sandy's Superstars brothels or to prosecute the brothelkeepers. Over nine months I have maintained an extensive correspondence with GMP running to dozens of emails. In nine months, no GMP officer has ever written to me with an unequivocal commitment to enforce the law, and GMP has been unwilling even to confirm that the Sandy's Superstars premises are brothels. Over nine months I have repeatedly found GMP officers to be highly evasive and unwilling to confirm or deny anything of substance.

My considered opinion - informed as it is by my extensive direct engagement with GMP over the past nine months - is that GMP is able but unwilling to enforce the Sexual Offences Act 2003 upon the Sandy's Superstars brothelkeepers.

After nine months of no action but a lot of evasion, I must now publicly declare that I have no confidence in Greater Manchester Police to enforce the Sexual Offences Act 2003 upon Sandra Jane Hankin, Christopher Mark Hankin and Adrian Paul Burch.

I believe that Greater Manchester Police has granted the Sandy's Superstars brothelkeepers de facto immunity from prosecution.

Now personally I believe that prostitution and brothels should be legalised, that said though this premises currently appears to be breaking the law, that would be the same basic law that saw this little fiasco erupt in Greater Manchester.
Guardian.

Manchester Evening News photographer Sean Wilton was arrested while taking pictures of a brawl outside a Manchester court.
A Greater Manchester Police spokesman later said: "A photographer was arrested to prevent a breach of the peace and on suspicion of obstructing a police officer.
"Officers brought the situation under control and the photographer was de-arrested and subsequently released."

That's right, "de-arrested" in other words they aren't afraid to arrest anyone they think might be getting in their way, evidence or not...
Makes you wonder just what's going on with Greater Manchester Police, though sad to say they aren't alone in their desire to spend, spend, spend. You can bet the art fund and the Police Commissioners perks aren't part of any cuts though, that'll be hitting the guys on the front line, as usual.