§ Mr. RuffleyTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) full time police officers, (b) special constables and (c) civilian police support staff there were in the Suffolk constabulary in each year since 1997. [104801]
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthThe table gives number of police officers, special constables and civilian support staff in the Suffolk constabulary from 1997 to 2002.
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthThe table gives numbers of police officers and civilian staff and the rate per 100,000 population for police forces in the eastern region.
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March September Eastern region 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2002 Norfolk Police officer strength 1,432 1,430 1,381 1,381 1,420 1,468 1,481 (100,000 population) (185) (184) (176) (175) (178) (183) (186) Civilian staff 603 646 648 655 694 819 n/a (100,000 population) (78) (83) (83) (83) (87) (102) n/a Suffolk Police officer strength 1,180 1,186 1,190 1,145 1,133 1,203 1,228 (100,000 population) (180) (179) (179) (171) (168) (177) (184) Civilian staff 522 583 594 600 621 692 n/a (100,000 population) (80) (88) (89) (89) (92) (102) n/a * These forces have been affected by the boundary changes which took place in April 2000.
§ Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what research his Department has undertaken on the density of police officers in the UK per(a) area and (b) head of population; which of these studies contained international comparisons; and if he will make a statement. [104430]
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthThe Home Office produces annually national, statistics on the density of total police officers and constables per head of population.
The latest data available are contained in "Police Service Strength England and Wales, 30 September 2002" Home Office Online Report 23/03. The average number of police officers for England and Wales per 100,000 population (including National Crime Squad (NCS), National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS), and other secondments) was 252.6. Figures for 31 March 2003 will be published in due course.
An international comparison of police officer density per 100,000 population was conducted by the Home Office for the period 2000 (See table.) These data will be updated in future.
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Country Police Officers per 100,000 population 20001,2 Austria 330 Belgium 183 Denmark 195 England and Wales 235 Finland 154 France 397 Germany 262 Greece 426 Ireland 302 Italy 169 Luxembourg 300 Netherlands 269 Norway 192 Portugal 481 Spain 312 Sweden 181 Switzerland 201 Australia 228 Canada 184 New Zealand 185 USA 238 Japan 208 Korea 204 Turkey 190 India 134 1Police officers only, not civilians.
2 Or nearest available year.
Note:
Direct comparisons of the police service in different jurisdictions can be difficult due to differences in the type of duties carried out by the people included in the total number.