It's pretty easy to find reasonable multiples on your assumptions. It's London and they might not be average policemen: salary x2 ; Overtime/nighttime: x2, Administrative overhead (they must spend time reporting, at the precinct, ...): x2 ; Multiple policemen (1 would not be enough to act): x3-x5 ; Management of those officers & briefings: x2-x3 ; That's already ~x100 and it's human costs only.

I don't believe most of these numbers. I'll be back later with a spreadsheet

Why am I being downvoted? Seriously, this math calculates to me differently in my head - so I am going to put a spreadsheet together to see if these costs are real.

Ill assume the avg salary stated above, plus the hours and schedules.

I can't believe that some beat officer is going to inflate costs 2x for doing reporting. I HIGHLY doubt there is that much paperwork for a simple shift change.

Further, the "cost" could be highly falsely inflated to justify the stopping of guarding Assange as they may see it a waste - and want to inflate how much waste there is so as to get easy agreement that "its not worth it"

They're probably not "Beat" cops, there are highly paid special branch and detectives too. Lets say on £80k each. There's all the intelligence activities that go into this. As somebody else mentioned overtime, other costs such as surveillance equipment, maintaining a situation room, heating, and food, helicopters, public relations christ the costs go on and on ...

Hahahahaha - "beat" officers

Heh, Yeah I didnt really mean "beat" officers, per se... but I am refering to officers that are simply guarding an already guarded building for political reasons...

I hadn't thought of the officers as being some elite force -- though I have no idea if they are, although assuming they may be lowly "beat"-like types is not a good assumption. :-)

I don't think that adds up to x100 or even close but I see where you are coming from.

Actually it adds (or, should I write, multiply) up to x48 if you take the lower bounds and x120 for the higher bounds that sylvinus provided above.

Look at the attached picture. I count EIGHT officers in that picture alone. Add to that the multipliers previously posted and you can rapidly approach that kind of cost.

I'm not sure why 8 officers would be required to keep an eye on one door for one person, but that's a tangential question...

I understand there is at least another door, plus of course you have to keep an eye on roofs and so on.

Perhaps they suspected an escape or extradition attempt with a well-funded commando-style raid?

I don't think that Sweden will storm a foreign embassy in a foreign country non the least, and if the US wanted him that bad they would've gotten him already.

The guard most likely wasn't to keep him safe, but to keep him in the embassy at all time, this is the same kind of guard that a US diplomat would've gotten while visiting the USSR and probably still gets when they visit Russia and vice versa.

The US wants him badly. It insinuates the rape allegations were to get him extradited to Sweden where he would then be extradited to the US.

I think we have different definitions of what "badly" means when we are talking about the full might of the United States, if they wanted him badly Cathryn would've been making zero-dark-frothy by now. Also the rape charges pre-date most of the embarrassing leaks on Wikileaks, not to mention that a trial in Sweden of all countries is not the place you threaten some one with, and the US-Swedish extradition treaty makes it unlikely for that to ever happen.

And most importantly he's been held up in the Ecuadorian embassy not the Russian one, Ecuador is the 4th largest receiver of US Economic and Military aid in South America the US also provides loan guarantees for most of Ecuadors loans including the recent 10bln USD loan from China which was secured through the IIC which is a US body.

The US isn't going to go assassinate a high profile world famous journalist. Everyone would suspect them.

It would be an enormous risk and an even bigger disaster of international diplomacy to kill an Australian without trial. Grow up.

You have to custodiet all the ipsos custodes.

Don't overlook the fact that the cost of employing someone is more than the sum of their salary?