§ 17. Mr. Nicholas Wintertonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current strength of the Cheshire constabulary.
§ Mr. Whitelaw1,821 at 30 November.
§ Mr. WintertonI am grateful to my right hon. Friend for that reply. Will he appreciate that, coming as I do from a county in which we had the Boarded Barn murders, where the two innocent young bank clerks were killed after the Prestbury bank robbery, and where Thomas Hughes was shot down after having committed terrible murders in Derbyshire, I believe that it is most important to keep police establishments up to the maximum? Will he, therefore, continue not only to devote as much attention to the maintenance of the police and their morale but from time to time ensure that the punishment meted out to killers fits the crimes that they have committed?
§ Mr. WhitelawI agree that we must build up the strength and the morale of the police service. The record of the Government in doing so is a remarkable one and is recognised to be so throughout the country. What we have to achieve as well, through the use of police officers, is good value for money. I have never made any secret of my belief that the more we can see what is simply described as "Bobbies on the beat on their feet", the more likely we shall be to deal with many of today's difficult problems.