All good reporters will carry a balanced view in their story, which you have failed to do. The credibility of your research is seriously undermimed by your naive assumptions.

As Nick above so rightly points out, a press conference will support a major enquiry – ie helping to trace offenders, witnesses etc. Or, spelled out so you can understand, “helping to solve the crime”. It is not spin or marketing but an essetntial requirement in serious unsolved investigations. It costs nothing apart from staff time and the goodwill of the media. From a simple appeal for information relating to a minor crime to a full-scale major incident, the media will require information from the police.

The employment of police press officers means front-line officers are not tied up providing this information.

However, press officers, like most other people who go out to work, don’t do it for nothing – yes, they have the audacity to expect a salary.

You are right, it is the public’s “right to know” about police spending, however, they need to know the informed truth, not the wild guesses spread by misinfomred enthusiastic amatuers.

The FOI Act was set up to allow individuals the right to see their personal information being held by public bodies. It is being seriously abused by people such as yourself.

Need a bit more info to tell whether this is significant.