§ David WrightTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what proportion of West Mercia police officers in Telford are from a black minority ethnic background; [45133]
612W(2) what proportion of officers employed by West Mercia police are from a black minority ethnic background. [45132]
§ Mr. DenhamI am told by the chief constable (Peter Heimpson) that West Mercia constabulary has seven officers who have classified themselves as black, which is 0.34 per cent. of force strength. Of this number three are deployed to the Telford division, which is 0.86 per cent. divisional strength.
§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the future pension costs of English police authorities; if he will list the total costs for the three financial years up to 2000–01; what he estimates those costs to be in each of the three succeeding years; and what proportion of the total police authority budget in each authority was represented by pension costs in(a) 2000–01 and (b) is estimated for 2001–02. [40550]
§ Mr. DenhamDetailed estimates of police service costs are made annually by individual police authorities and forces. Each makes its own projection of pensions' costs. In formulating projections of grant, careful account is taken of advice from the Association of Police Authorities and the Association of Chief Police Officers on estimated increases in pensions costs.
Total net pensions' costs for English Police Authorities were £840.9 million in 1998–99, £897.7 million in 1999–00 and are estimated at £973.5 million in 2000–01 and £1,055.6 million in 2001–02 (Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy Police statistics).
Police estimated spending on net pensions in England as a proportion of net expenditure in 2000–01 and 2001–02 is set out in the table.
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Proportion of English police authorities net expenditure spent on net pensions costs Percentage Police authority 2000–01 2001–02 Avon and Somerset Police 16.16 16.65 Bedfordshire Police 12.48 12.84 Cambridgeshire Police 12.98 12.69 Cheshire Police 11.25 13.63 City of London 15.36 16.05 Cleveland Police 15.18 14.85 Cumbria Police 15.37 15.25 Derbyshire Police 13.41 12.37 Devon and Cornwall Police 13.96 14.81 Dorset Police 14.00 15.05 Durham Police 12.04 12.54 Essex Police 11.30 12.94 Gloucestershire Police 14.20 14.26 Greater Manchester Police 15.21 16.25 Hampshire Police 10.84 11.35 Hertfordshire Police 9.80 9.51 Humberside Police 14.15 14.49 Kent Police 12.50 12.94 Lancashire Police 13.54 14.35 Leicestershire Police 12.11 12.63 Lincolnshire Police 16.25 16.86 Merseyside Police 15.65 16.43 Metropolitan Police (GLA) 13.25 12.87 Norfolk Police 12.64 12.55 North Yorkshire Police 16.31 17.19 Northamptonshire Police 11.91 10.83 Northumbria Police 14.27 14.41 Nottinghamshire Police 13.66 15.30 South Yorkshire Police 10.59 12.18
Proportion of English police authorities net expenditure spent on net pensions costs Percentage Police authority 2000–01 2001–02 Staffordshire Police 14.84 17.03 Suffolk Police 13.54 14.34 Surrey Police 9.32 9.48 Sussex Police 15.99 15.94 Thames Valley Police 9.78 9.90 Warwickshire Police 15.25 16.51 West Mercia Police 13.26 13.65 West Midlands Police 11.89 12.45 West Yorkshire Police 14.18 14.98 Wiltshire Police 11.11 12.26 Total 13.26 13.63 Source:
Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy Police statistics (Estimates)
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will publish the figures, by police force, of those individuals who successfully applied to join the constabulary from the ranks of the specials for each year since 1997. [47405]
§ Mr. DenhamFigures for recruits from the specials have not been collected consistently by forces. The figures that are available for the numbers of specials accepted to join the regular service have been collated by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and are set out in the table.
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Force 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 Avon and Somerset 22 28 9 14 Bedfordshire 9 7 0 11 Cambridgeshire 9 2 14 30 Cheshire 9 8 4 16 City of London 4 8 0 0 Cleveland 5 0 6 5 Cumbria 1 4 0 3 Derbyshire 22 18 22 1— Devon and Cornwall 28 13 10 22 Dorset 24 6 5 16 Durham 10 12 8 13 Dyfed-Powys 1— 0 1— 10 Essex 13 30 18 38 Gloucestershire 3 6 8 5 Greater Manchester 38 16 23 32 Gwent 3 5 4 9 Hampshire 26 18 27 1— Hertfordshire 3 18 10 12 Humberside 10 4 4 0 Kent 9 18 23 25 Lancashire 27 15 13 18 Leicestershire 16 13 11 19 Lincolnshire 3 0 0 8 Merseyside 25 27 6 6 Metropolitan Police 0 19 0 1— Norfolk 4 0 5 17 Northamptonshire 4 5 1 18 Northumbria 10 15 10 36 North Wales 19 13 15 8 North Yorkshire 1 4 1— 0 Nottinghamshire 1 8 6 0 South Wales 11 15 7 10 South Yorkshire 17 9 13 1— Staffordshire 35 1— 2 37 Suffolk 14 8 8 6 Surrey 0 8 16 9 Sussex 16 17 15 16 Thames Valley 28 16 12 16 Warwickshire 8 15 2 1— West Mercia 1 2 10 8
Force 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 West Midlands 2 5 11 1— West Yorkshire 25 3 10 40 Wiltshire 6 2 5 13 England and Wales 521 460 373 546 1 Not known
§ Dr. NaysmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to issue guidance on policing of demonstrations; and if he will make a statement. [48534]
§ Mr. DenhamGuidance has been issued to police forces on this subject by the Association of Chief Police Officer. For operational reasons, this has not been made publicly available.
§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with(a) chief constables and (b) others concerning freemasonry in the police service. [46912]
§ Mr. DenhamI consulted the Association of Chief Police Officers earlier this year on ways to improve the level of registration of freemasonry membership by police officers. I will take their views into account before deciding what further measures might be necessary.
§ Mr. RuffleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many funded police officers there have been in each year in the Bury St. Edmunds parliamentary constituency since 1998. [50583]
§ Mr. DenhamThe information has been provided by the Chief constable (Paul Scott-Lee) Queens Police Medal (QPM). I am informed that the Bury St. Edmunds rural sector has only existed since 1999. It is therefore only possible to provide strength information from 1999. Information for actual strength in the financial years 1999–2000 to 2001–02 in the Bury St. Edmunds rural sector is set out in the table.
Bury St. Edmunds rural sector Year1 Number of officers2 1999–2000 21 2000–01 21 2001–02 22 1 As at 31 March of each financial year. 2 Actual officer headcount.
§ Dr. LadymanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what training is being given to police officers to improve autism awareness. [51203]
§ Mr. DenhamThe basic training received by all recruits to the police service includes an element designed to raise awareness of mental disorder and to highlight the importance of communicating effectively and sensitively with people suffering from a mental disorder (including autism). Individual forces also provide further training for their officers on these issues. Details are not held centrally of such local provision.
§ Dr. LadymanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance police officers receive about interviewing witnesses who may have an autistic spectrum disorder. [51204]
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§ Mr. DenhamTraining for police officers on interviewing witnesses takes place in forces, sometimes carried out jointly with local authorities.
Centrex will shortly publish an aide memoire for police officers, based on "Achieving Best Evidence", which includes guidance on best practice in interviewing witnesses who suffer from mental disorder or learning disability (including autistic spectrum disorder).
§ Mr. DalyellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what guidance he gives to police forces on the(a) detention and (b) destruction of police notes taken during murder investigations, with special reference to the time limit for retaining notes. [47442]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 22 April 2002]: Police forces in England and Wales act in accordance with the Code of Practice issued under the Criminal Procedure and Investigations Act 1996. This sets out the procedures for the retention and destruction of material obtained in a criminal investigation which may be relevant to the investigation. All material which may be relevant to the investigation must be retained until a decision is taken whether to institute proceedings against a person for an offence.
If a criminal investigation results in proceedings being instituted, all material which may be relevant must be retained at least until the accused is acquitted or convicted
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Year ending Offence Group March 1999 March 2000 March 2001 Recorded crimes for Merseyside Violence against the person 12,208 14,639 15,855 Sexual offences 1,019 935 982 Robbery 2,484 2,663 2,405 Burglary in a dwelling 14,177 13,606 12,514 Burglary in other building 12,321 12,032 11,424 Theft and handling stolen goods including: 59,044 62,230 57,844 Theft from vehicle 15,031 16,960 14,220 Theft or unauthorised taking of motor vehicle 15,306 16,775 16,157 Fraud and Forgery 4,884 4,794 5,021 Criminal damage 27,465 30,822 30,593 Drug Offences 5,620 4,838 4,421 Other Offences 1,652 1,613 1,748 Grand Total 140,874 148,172 142,807 Recorded crimes for the St. Helens Basic Command Unit1 Violence against the person n/a 1,693 1,795 Sexual offences n/a 109 153 Robbery n/a 171 168 Burglary in a dwelling n/a 1,550 1,669 Theft from vehicle n/a 2,000 1,923 Theft or unauthorised taking of motor vehicle n/a 1,680 1,725 1 A subset of recorded crime has been collected since 1 April 1999. or the prosecutor decides not to proceed with the case. Where the accused is convicted, all material which may be relevant must be retained at least until:
the convicted person is released from custody, or discharged from hospital, in cases where the court imposes a custodial sentence or a hospital order;six months from the date of conviction, in all other cases.If an appeal against conviction is in progress when the release or discharge occurs, or at the end of the period of six months specified above, all material which may be relevant must be retained until the appeal is determined.
It is for each police force to determine their policy in relation to retention of material for certain criminal offences. For example, the Metropolitan police service retain all material relevant to a murder investigation for 25 years following a conviction.
§ Mr. WoodwardTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many recorded crimes of(a) violence against persons, (b) sexual offences, (c) robbery, (d) burglary, (e) total theft and handling stolen goods, (f) theft of and from vehicles, (g) fraud and forgery, (h) criminal damage, (i) drug offences and (j) other notifiable offences there were in (i) St. Helens police area and (ii) Merseyside police area in the years to (A) March 1999, (B) March 2000 and (C) March 2001. [51618]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 25 April 2002]: The requested information for Merseyside, and the available information for the St. Helens police Basic Command Unit, are given in the tables.
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§ Mr. Andrew TurnerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers have been(a) sick and (b) on light duties for (i) two to eight weeks, (ii) eight to 26 weeks and (iii) 26 weeks to one year in the last year for which information is available. [47123]
§ Mr. DenhamThe information requested is not collected centrally. Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary (HMIC), however, collect data on the number of officers on long term sick leave (i.e. more than 28 days), the working days lost due to long term sickness and the number of days spent by officers on recuperative or restricted duties. 2000–01 is the last full year for which data is available.
Not all forces have systems in place to provide the full information requested by HMIC on sick leave. The data for 2000–01 is therefore incomplete but shows that at 31 March 2001, 2,591 officers were on long term sick leave. In the 12 month period ending 31 March 2001, 760,533 police officer working days were lost due to long-term sickness. Additionally the number of days spent by officers on recuperative duties in 2000–01 was 241,159.
The way in which police forces record sick leave duties is currently under review. This work will establish common standards to make data more comparable between forces.
§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what number and percentage of police officers in England and Wales who are entitled to retire early on grounds of ill health(a) chose to stay on in the police service in another role and (b) were offered and accepted a desk job in the last year for which figures are available; [50681]
(2) what number and percentage of police officers in England and Wales retired early for reasons of ill health in each year since 1996; what pension entitlements apply in these circumstances; and if he will make a statement. [50686]
§ Mr. DenhamFigures are not centrally available for the number of police officers medically certified as permanently disabled, and therefore eligible to be considered for medical retirement, but who are retained in their force. The figures relating to the number of ill health retirements are given in the table.
Medical retirements Percentage of police strength 1996–97 2,012 1.6 1997–98 1,827 1.4 1998–99 1,642 1.3 1999–2000 1,232 1.0 2000–01 1,209 1.0 An officer's pension entitlements on being compulsorily retired on ill health grounds depend on his or her length of pensionable service in the police pension scheme. An ill health pension, which is payable immediately on retirement, is calculated in a similar way to an ordinary pension but is subject to enhancement where an officer has at least five years' pensionable service. This is to compensate the officer at least in part for the lost opportunity of serving until normal retirement.
618WAn ill health pension is subject to the limit of 40/60ths of average pensionable pay (app), which is the maximum ordinary pension, and is also subject to the qualification that pensionable service may not be enhanced to exceed what the officer could have completed by the age of compulsory retirement. The scale of benefits applicable is shown in the table.
Pensionable service Pension Less than 2 years An ill health gratuity—no pension 2 to less than 5 years Pension with no enhancement— 1/60 of app per year 5 to 10 years 2/60 of app per year More than 10 to 13 years 20/60 of app More than 13 years 7/60 of app plus 1/60 for each year up to 20 2/60 for each year over 20 The Police Negotiating Board (PNB) are considering ways to deliver a fair and more consistent approach towards early retirement due to ill health. This should enable forces to reduce the level of ill-health retirement and match the performance of the best quartile of forces in 2000–01 by 2005. The measures under consideration include amendments to the Police Pensions Regulations and joint guidance being issued by the PNB to police authorities and senior management to ensure that wherever possible officers continue in employment where they are capable of performing sufficient duties to make their retention operationally justifiable.
In the White Paper on police reform the Government also announced that it will establish a national occupational health strategy for the police service, which should assist forces to manage cases of ill health more effectively at the outset.