§ Mr. EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many special constables there were in each police force in England and Wales on(a) 1st September 2002 and (b) 1 September of each of the last five years; [77640]
(2) how many special constables there are in (a) Lancashire, (b) the north-west of England and (c) Wales. [77639]
§ Mr. DenhamData on police officer numbers in England and Wales, including the Special Constabulary, is collected in March and September each year by the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate and published in the statistical bulletin "Police Service Strength".
The data on Special Constabulary strength for 30 September 1997 to 30 September 2001 is set out in the table. For 2002, the latest figure available is for 31 March 2002.
The Special Constabulary has a vital role to play in reducing crime and providing reassurance to the public and we are committed to increasing the numbers of specials. We are working with stakeholders on a variety of measures, including good practice guidance to help forces improve the recruitment, management and deployment of specials.
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Table 1: Specials Numbers Police force September March 1977 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 City of London 84 69 66 46 34 36 Merseyside 407 463 467 452 507 468 Metropolitan police 1,528 1,214 1,173 754 753 680 Norfolk 346 351 317 270 240 244 Northamptonshire 314 262 210 195 184 177 Northumbria 480 352 356 323 276 256 North Yorkshire 337 302 245 189 186 185 Nottinghamshire 597 530 405 411 281 341 South Yorkshire 295 266 236 193 189 206 Staffordshire 643 558 460 461 395 384 Suffolk 300 402 420 376 322 308 Surrey 231 226 205 168 176 187 Sussex 465 415 377 317 301 306 Thames Valley 694 587 514 463 377 356 Warwickshire 379 323 260 260 208 209 West Mercia 558 499 512 443 364 339 West Midlands 949 784 697 662 604 598 West Yorkshire 604 590 572 452 371 349 Wiltshire 150 176 182 172 160 147 Dyfed Powys 241 237 237 193 174 157 Gwent 149 114 110 131 148 142 North Wales 388 336 262 233 203 125 South Wales 362 360 331 254 250 277 Total 19,163 17,296 15,727 13,487 12, 068 11,598 Source:
Figures provided by Research Development Statistics Directorate