§ Mr. Peter Bruinvelsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from chief constables on the civilianisation initiatives in each of the police force areas, the number of posts so far civilianised, the number of further posts expected to be civilianised in 344W the current year and the number of posts earmarked for civilianisation after the current year; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggIt is estimated that in provincial forces in England and Wales civilianisation resulted in the release of about 500 police officers for operational work in 1985 and about 580 in 1986. As my right hon. Friend stated on 20 May 1986 in reply to a question from the hon. Member for Westminster, North (Mr. Wheeler)Official Report, columns 124–25, following a review by Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary of the manpower needs of provincial forces, we expect to see phased increases in civilian staff of approximately 1,350 over the next few years resulting in the release of at least 650 police officers to operational duty.
In the Metropolitan police in the financial year 1985–86 civilianisation resulted in the release of 162 police officers to operational duties. The estimated number for 1986–87 is 108 and for 1987–88 the estimate is 160.