§ 10. Mr. Juddasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current difference between the combined establishment strength of police forces throughout England and Wales and the actual strength of these forces; whether he will publish in the OFFICIAL. REPORT detailed statistics in this respect for each individual police authority; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. R. CarrOn 30th April the authorised establishment was 111,600 and the provisional strength 100,310, a difference of 11,290. I will, with permission, circulate the detailed statistics in the OFFICIAL REPORT, as requested.
§ Mr. JuddI thank the right hon. Gentleman for that reply. He will agree that the most effective deterrent to crime is the certainty of detection. In achieving that, the morale and strength of the police forces are critical factors. Does not the right hon. Gentleman, recognising that there are special problems in areas like London, agree that there are cost of living problems confronting police personnel, necessitating an urgent and radical review of conditions of service and pay for police throughout the country?
§ Mr. CarrMatters of police pay and conditions are in the first instance for the Police Council. However, I think that it is fair to say two things. First, over the past two and three-quarter years the pay and conditions of the police have been significantly improved, not only in themselves but in relation to other sectors of the working population. Secondly, I am glad to say that over the same period there has been a considerable upsurge in police recruitment and strength.
§ Mr. BidwellIs the retrospective nature of the 1971 Immigration Act, having regard to the substance of this Question and Question No. 5, likely to impose any additional strain on the police force, or will it be encompassed in more normal police activity? Can the right hon. Gentleman assure the House that there will be no special or extraordinary police activity in this regard, or hounding of immigrants as a whole?
§ Mr. CarrI can assure the hon. Gentleman, as I assured the House the other day, that I have no special hounding operation in mind. I am glad to have the opportunity of confirming that once again.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsDoes the right hon. Gentleman agree that there is some feeling in the police force that the establishment figure is an understatement of what is required, especially if there is a move towards getting more police on to the unit beat system in the big cities? Does he recognise—I am sure he does—that in the big cities in particular, while there has been an improvement in salary, the conditions under which many police officers have to work, particularly in the period of the year when there are 1677 demonstrations and the like, are such that very often they do not get a reasonable amount of time with their families, or leisure time, and that this has a counter-productive effect not only on recruitment but on trying to hold existing police officers?
§ Mr. CarrI of course understand the points that the hon. Lady is making, and have much sympathy with them. It is a
| 30th April 1973 | Authorised Establishment | Strength for Ordinary Duty | Difference |
| Bedfordshire and Luton Constabulary | 826 | 746 | 80 |
| Birmingham City Police | 3,029 | 2,650 | 379 |
| Bradford City Police | 805 | 740 | 65 |
| Bristol Constabulary | 1,221 | 1,160 | 61 |
| Cheshire Constabulary | 3,092 | 2,745 | 347 |
| City of London Police | 1,013 | 802 | 211 |
| Cumbria Constabulary | 831 | 805 | 26 |
| Derby County and Borough Constabulary | 1,548 | 1,364 | 184 |
| Devon and Cornwall Constabulary | 2,554 | 2,487 | 67 |
| Dorset and Bournemouth Constabulary | 981 | 942 | 39 |
| Durham Constabulary | 2,804 | 2,730 | 74 |
| Dyfed-Powys Constabulary | 891 | 818 | 73 |
| Essex and Southend-on-Sea Joint Constabulary | 2,340 | 2,068 | 272 |
| Gloucestershire Constabulary | 1,215 | 1,161 | 54 |
| Gwent Constabulary | 875 | 857 | 18 |
| Gwynedd Constabulary | 1,155 | 1,097 | 58 |
| Hampshire Constabulary | 2,750 | 2,673 | 77 |
| Hertfordshire Constabulary | 1,472 | 1,262 | 210 |
| Kent Constabulary | 2,447 | 2,220 | 227 |
| Kingston-upon-Hull City Constabulary | 754 | 715 | 39 |
| Lancashire Constabulary | 7,040 | 6,651 | 389 |
| Leeds City Police | 1,413 | 1,220 | 193 |
| Leicester and Rutland Constabulary | 1,502 | 1,452 | 50 |
| Lincolnshire Constabulary | 1,700 | 1,661 | 39 |
| Liverpool and Bootle Constabulary | 2,538 | 2,288 | 250 |
| Manchester and Salford Police | 2,438 | 2,209 | 229 |
| Metropolitan Police | 26,055 | 21,122 | 4,933 |
| Mid-Anglia Constabulary | 1,022 | 881 | 141 |
| Norfolk Joint Police | 1,183 | 1,116 | 67 |
| Northampton and County Constabulary | 774 | 756 | 18 |
| Northumberland Constabulary | 1,833 | 1,769 | 64 |
| Nottinghamshire Combined Constabulary | 1,962 | 1,921 | 41 |
| Sheffield and Rotherham Constabulary | 1,450 | 1,255 | 195 |
| Somerset and Bath Constabulary | 1,260 | 1,113 | 147 |
| South Wales Constabulary | 2,682 | 2,639 | 43 |
| Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Constabulary | 2,046 | 1,945 | 101 |
| Suffolk Constabulary | 1,044 | 993 | 51 |
| Surrey Constabulary | 1,393 | 1,269 | 124 |
| Sussex Constabulary | 2,496 | 2,434 | 62 |
| Teesside Constabulary | 1,022 | 1,012 | 10 |
| Thames Valley Police | 2,960 | 2,703 | 257 |
| Warwickshire and Coventry Constabulary | 1,815 | 1,639 | 176 |
| West Mercia Constabulary | 1,761 | 1,559 | 202 |
| West Midlands Constabulary | 1,968 | 1,457 | 511 |
| West Yorkshire Constabulary | 4,663 | 3,901 | 762 |
| Wiltshire Constabulary | 926 | 829 | 97 |
| York and N.E. Yorkshire Constabulary | 1,219 | 1,196 | 23 |
§ In addition 1,276 police officers are serving away from main forces on central service or on such units as regional crime squads.
§ 15. Mr. Fowlerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the net increase in strength of police forces in England and Wales since 1st July 1970; how this compares with the comparable period ending 30th June
§ matter of fact, however, that because we have been so under strength for so long the establishment level has not so far been any handicap or bar to recruitment. I am not saying that we might not reach that stage in the future. I was almost going to say that I hope we do. But at present the establishment figures are not causing any holding back of recruitment.
§ Following is the information:
§ 1970; and whether he will make a statement.
§ Mr. R. CarrDuring the 34 months from 1st July 1970 to 30th April 1973 the increase was 7,500; for the 34 1679 months before 1st July 1970 the increase was 3,800.
§ Mr. FowlerDoes my center hon. Friend agree that these are encouraging results, which show the wisdom of lifting restrictions on police recruiting? Further, does he agree that the major problem at the moment is in the big cities? That applies not only to London but, for example, to Birmingham. Is it not a matter of some urgency that special treatment should be given to policemen serving in large city forces?
§ Mr. CarrI accept that there are problems of a peculiarly difficult nature in big cities. London is by no means the only city with such problems, although I think that it is the city with the most acute problem. I very much welcome the recently declared attitude of the Police Federation towards differentials in London. At the same time, while I shall want to consider carefully any proposals that the Police Council may put before me in due course, we must realise that pay matters are subject to present pay policy.
§ Mr. James LamondDoes the center hon. Gentleman know whether there is any truth in the assertion that policemen are retiring as soon as they can, namely, after 25 years' service? If that is the case, does it not show that a considerable improvement is still required in the standard of employment, so that people will stay in the service for a reasonable length of time after they have been recruited?
§ Mr. CarrYes, it is true that one of the problems at the moment is not so much new recruitment but wastage. Some of that wastage is early retirement, some of which is undoubtedly due to overstrain and stress as a result of police work. That applies particularly to big cities. Some early retirement is also due to recently improved pension provisions. We cannot differentiate the one from the other. We are faced with something of a vicious circle. If we could only keep the strength up the conditions would be improved and the wastage due to stress would go down. We are recruiting as hard as we can.
§ Mr. HollandWill my center hon. Friend include in the OFFICIAL REPORT a breakdown of the figures, giving an indication 1680 of the increases or otherwise of police forces in individual cases in each county?
§ Mr. WellbelovedIs the center hon. Gentleman aware that the wastage figures are partly helped by the policy of using interchangeability in the Metropolitan Police rather than the police disciplinary code when officers have apparently committed some minor error? Will the center hon. Gentleman hold an investigation to ensure that when there is some doubt about the conduct of an officer in the Metropolitan Police, he is charged under the disciplinary code and has the center to put up a case rather than be punished—in my view quite improperly—by being transferred without an opportunity to state a case?
§ Mr. CarrIf the hon. Gentleman has any cases in mind I should like to consider them. With the attention that is given to disciplinary matters in the Metropolitan Police at the moment—for example, the new division for any serious complaints both for internal matters and for public complaints—and the way in which the present Commissioner is pursuing this aspect, there should be an improvement rather than the reverse in respect of the sort of problem to which the hon. Gentleman refers.