HC Deb 12 November 1979 vol 973 c390W
Mr. Straw

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police forces existed in England and Wales outside the Metropolitan area in 1963 and 1978; what was (a) the average population covered by those forces, (b) the largest population, and (c) the smallest population, in each of those years.

Mr. Whitelaw

Excluding the Metropolitan Police and the City of London Police, there were 123 police forces in England and Wales in 1963, and 41 in 1978. The estimated populations they covered are given in the following table: