A Freedom of Information request has revealed that Police forces in England and Wales spent £660,952 on PRS licences over the past year. While this will no doubt be considered to be a huge expense, particularly coming from the public purse, it is clear that Police Chief’s recognise the value of music playing in their offices. The Chairman of West Mercia Police Federation has been quoted as saying:

"We provide a 24-hour service… It is not unreasonable when an officer is having a sandwich and a cup of coffee at three o'clock in the morning to provide equipment for rest and relaxation… In the general scheme of things it is not a lot of money and the benefit on staff morale is significant."

If nothing else, this highlights that having music playing isn’t just of benefit for customer facing businesses like bars and cafés. We don’t know what police forces are playlisting, but we’d suggest the shy away from Ice-T and Body Count, Junior Murvin, and Johnny Cash.