§ Lord Eamesasked Her Majesty's Government:
What are the projected numerical strengths for 2002–03 of the Police Service of Northern Ireland; and whether they are satisfied with the current recruitment figure. [HL5140]
§ Lord Williams of MostynCurrently, the projected strength of the Police Service of Northern Ireland at 31 March 2003 is 9,500 full-time officers, although this figure may vary according to the numbers who leave and are recruited into the PSNI. The Policing Board and the PSNI are currently developing a human resource strategy which will address issues which impact on projected strengths; such as severance uptake and the future of the Full-Time Reserve.
Recruitment competitions for the PSNI are currently attracting a sufficiently high level of response
256WA
Year Prosecutions Convictions Rape Assault with intent to rape Total Rape Assault with intent to rape Total 1993 40 7 47 10 3 13 1994 43 2 45 14 1 15 1995 78 0 78 24 0 24 1996 64 5 69 15 0 15 1997 60 1 61 21 0 21 from both communities to enable an annual intake of over 500 recruits on a 50 per cent Catholic, 50 per cent non-Catholic basis. This is well in excess of Patten's recommended annual intake of 370 recruits.