§ Mr. Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to appendix C of his White Paper on police complaints and discipline, how many of the 1,455 convictions of police officers on discipline charges in 1982 led to punishment or loss of pay; and if he will publish a table showing as nearly as may be the number of punishments imposed on police officers sentenced for disciplinary offences in 1982 which led to penalties in each of the following categories; loss of less than one week's pay, more than one week but less than four weeks' pay, more than four weeks' but less then three months' pay, more than three months' but less than six months' pay and more than six months' pay.
§ Mr. HurdThis information is not collected centrally in the form requested, and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. The information available records the number of officers convicted of one or more disciplinary offences and the heaviest punishment imposed in respect of each officer. In 1982, 743 police officers were convicted of a total of 1,455 disciplinary offences. Of these, 367 officers received a fine as their most serious punishment, and 30 a reduction in their rate of pay. Information on the size of financial penalties is not centrally available; but the Police (Discipline) Regulations provide that a reduction in rate of pay may not take an officer's pay below the minimum for his rank and may not be imposed for more than 12 months, while a fine imposed for any one offence may not exceed the equivalent of 13 days of an officer's pay.