Police Numbers (Hansard, 14 July 1998)

§ Lord Williams of Mostyn

Provisional figures show that at 31 March 1998 there were 126,944 police officers (down 214 from March 1997) in England and Wales, including 98,387 constables (up 255 from March 1997).

The number of constables and the number of officers in each force is shown in the tables. In addition, there are 2,058 officers on secondments to the National Crime Squad and Central Services.

Change in strength between March 1997 and March 1998
	March 1997	March 1998	Increase/decrease
Avon & Somerset	2,988.8	2,975.9	-12.9
Bedfordshire	1,093.6	1,078.5	-15.1
Cambridgeshire	1,302.0	1,291.4	-10.6
Cheshire	2,045.5	2,035.9	-9.6
City of London	858.9	824.9	-34.0
Cleveland	1,459.3	1,483.4	24.1
Cumbria	1,143.5	1,163.5	20.0
Derbyshire	1,790.6	1,772.2	-18.4
Devon & Cornwall	2,864.5	2,961.5	97.0
Dorset	1,284.0	1,310.0	26.0
Durham	1,460.5	1,514.8	54.3
Dyfed-Powys	1,004.5	1,002.3	-2.2
Essex	2,960.7	2,928.5	-32.2
Gloucestershire	1,132.6	1,103.9	-28.7
Greater Manchester	6,921.6	6,948.7	27.1
Gwent	1,243.0	1,232.8	-10.2
Hampshire	3,451.7	3,489.5	37.8
Hertfordshire	1,759.1	1,739.9	-19.2
Humberside	2,045.0	2.021.2	-23.8
Kent	3,260.1	3,251.8	-8.3
Lancashire	3,247.5	3,257.1	9.6
Leicestershire	1,948.8	1,983.1	34.3
Lincolnshire	1,196.4	1,191.1	-5.3
Merseyside	4,230.4	4,217.4	-13.0
Metropolitan Police	26,677.3	26,192.7	-484.6
Norfolk	1,431.6	1,429.6	-2.0
Northamptonshire	1,176.7	1,168.7	-8.0
Northumbria	3,676.8	3,766.7	89.9
North Wales	1,369.0	1,396.0	27.0
North Yorkshire	1,337.6	1,367.2	29.6
Nottinghamshire	2,323.4	2,322.6	-0.8
South Wales	2,975.9	2,986.2	10.3
South Yorkshire	3,158.7	3,182.0	23.3

22WA

Change in strength between March 1997 and March 1998
	March 1997	March 1998	Increase/decrease
Staffordshire	2,211.1	2,292.1	81.0
Suffolk	1,179.7	1,185.8	6.1
Surrey	1,619.5	1,608.4	-11.1
Sussex	3,084.9	3,037.7	-47.2
Thames Valley	3,695.0	3,775.5	80.5
Warwickshire	925.9	924.1	-1.8
West Mercia	2,040.2	2,011.8	-28.4
West Midlands	7,112.7	7,156.5	43.8
West Yorkshire	5,208.8	5,154.7	-54.1
Wiltshire	1,154.3	1,148.3	-6.0
Total	125,051.7	124,885.9	-165.8

Change in constable strength between March 1997 and March 1998
	March 1997	March 1998	Increase/decrease
Avon & Somerset	2,314.8	2,307.9	-6.9
Bedfordshire	846.1	842.5	-3.6
Cambridgeshire	1,001.0	1,006.2	5.2
Cheshire	1,589.5	1,594.9	5.4
City of London	655.9	634.1	-21.8
Cleveland	1,121.5	1,146.4	24.9
Cumbria	881.5	910.5	29.0
Derbyshire	1,376.0	1,363.2	-12.8
Devon & Cornwall	2,233.5	2,322.9	89.4
Dorset	969.0	1,003.0	34.0
Durham	1,130.0	1,184.2	54.2
Dyfed-Powys	755.5	749.3	-6.2
Essex	2,269.3	2,263.5	-5.8
Gloucestershire	872.0	861.3	-10.7
Greater Manchester	5,341.9	5,415.5	73.6
Gwent	964.0	950.8	-13.2
Hampshire	2,698.2	2,736.8	38.6
Hertfordshire	1,364.5	1,328.1	-36.4
Humberside	1,582.4	1,565.4	-17.0
Kent	2,554.1	2,548.2	-5.9
Lancashire	2,492.5	2,504.3	11.8
Leicestershire	1,555.7	1,586.8	31.1
Lincolnshire	920.7	905.1	-15.6
Merseyside	3,272.4	3,293.4	21.0
Metropolitan Police	20,671.4	20,252.6	-418.8
Norfolk	1,133.3	1,115.2	-18.1
Northamptonshire	931.1	924.6	-6.5
Northumbria	2,885.0	2,960.9	75.9
North Wales	1,024.0	1,054.0	30.0
North Yorkshire	1,017.6	1,052.8	35.2
Nottinghamshire	1,821.9	1,831.0	9.1
South Wales	2,259.9	2,309.2	49.3
South Yorkshire	2,435.7	2,459.0	23.3
Staffordshire	1,683.9	1,781.9	98.0
Suffolk	921.7	927.2	5.5
Surrey	1,240.1	1,237.1	-3.0
Sussex	2,374.3	2,343.4	-30.9
Thames Valley	2,858.0	2,937.3	79.3
Warwickshire	707.9	724.1	16.2
West Mercia	1,563.1	1,553.9	-9.2
West Midlands	5,636.4	5,731.1	94.7
West Yorkshire	4,105.9	4,068.7	-37.2
Wiltshire	881.2	881.2	0.0
Total	96,914.4	97,169.5	255.1