§ Ms HewittTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces have required traffic officers to undertake non-traffic duties. [46936]
§ Mr. MichaelTraffic officers in all police forces in England and Wales undertake non-traffic policing duties. Road traffic offences and general criminal offences do not arise in clearly separate ways which can be independently enforced. It is an important part of the British policing 515W system that traffic officers deal with all crimes which occur on the roads and that police officers on general duties can take action against breaches of road traffic law.
§ Ms HewittTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of police officers worked on traffic duties in each of the past 20 years, in each police force. [46926]
§ Mr. MichaelThe allocation of resources to particular functions and the deployment of officers are operational matters for individual chief constables. Road traffic offences do not necessarily occur separately. A large part of traffic officers' time is spent dealing with ordinary crime, or carrying out ordinary police duties. Conversely, officers on general beat duties are able to take prompt action against breaches of road traffic law. Any figures must be interpreted with care against that background.
It is possible to provide figures only since 1990. These are set out in the tables which I have placed in the Library. Information for 1997–98 is not yet available.