§ Mr. WattsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the current level is of police civilian support staff. [148315]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 19 January 2004]The number of full-time equivalent police staff for the police service in England and Wales (includes 43 police force areas and the National Crime Squad) was 63,105 on 31 March 2003. This figure excludes community support officers and traffic wardens.
§ Mr. PaiceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list for each police force in England and Wales(a) in rank order and (b) in alphabetical order the ratio of full-time equivalent police officers to population (i) in 1996–97 and (ii) on the latest available date. [148313]
§ Ms Blears[holding answer 19 January 2004]The following table provides the ratio of police officers to population for 31 March 1997 and 31 March 2003.
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Police officers strength 1 Rank order Alphabetical order Police force area March 19972 Police force area March 2003 2,3 Police force area March 19972 Police force area March 20032,3 Greater Manchester 268 Cleveland 292 City of London4 — City of London4 — Cleveland 261 Northumbria 285 Cleveland 261 Cleveland 292 Northumbria 256 Durham 279 Cumbria 233 Cumbria 234 West Yorkshire 247 South Wales 270 Derbyshire 187 Derbyshire 209 South Yorkshire 242 South Yorkshire 251 Devon and Cornwall 186 Devon and Cornwall 203 Durham 240 Gwent 243 Dorset 189 Dorset 204 Cumbria 233 Humberside 242 Durham 240 Durham 279 Humberside 230 West Yorkshire 242 Dyfed-Powys 212 Dyfed-Powys 235 Lancashire 228 Nottinghamshire 237 Essex 197 Essex 185 Nottinghamshire 225 Lancashire 236 Gloucestershire 205 Gloucestershire 217 South Wales 223 Dyfed-Powys 235 Greater Manchester 268 Greater Manchester 296 Dyfed-Powys 212 Cumbria 234 Gwent 275 Gwent 243 Leicestershire 211 North Wales 232 Hampshire 198 Hampshire 206 Sussex 211 Leicestershire 229 Hertfordshire 205 Hertfordshire 189 Kent 210 Kent 221 Humberside 230 Humberside 242 Staffordshire 209 Gloucestershire 217 Kent 210 Kent 221 Cheshire 209 Cheshire 215 Lancashire 228 Lancashire 236 Surrey 209 Avon and Somerset 212 Leicestershire 211 Leicestershire 229 North Wales 208 Staffordshire 210 Lincolnshire 196 Lincolnshire 189 Gloucestershire 205 Derbyshire 209 Merseyside 296 Merseyside 301 Hertfordshire 205 Hampshire 206 Metropolitan Police4 367 Metropolitan Police4 401 Avon and Somerset 204 Dorset 204 Norfolk 185 Norfolk 188 Bedfordshire 200 Devon and Cornwall 203 North Wales 208 North Wales 232 Hampshire 198 Sussex 200 North Yorkshire 183 North Yorkshire 192 Essex 197 Warwickshire 197 Northamptonshire 196 Northamptonshire 192 Northamptonshire 196 Bedfordshire 195 Northumbria 256 Northumbria 285 Lincolnshire 196 Cambridgeshire 195 Nottinghamshire 225 Nottinghamshire 237 Wiltshire 195 West Mercia 195 South Wales 223 South Wales 270 Dorset 189 North Yorkshire 192 South Yorkshire 242 South Yorkshire 251 Cambridgeshire 188 Northamptonshire 192 Staffordshire 209 Staffordshire 210 Derbyshire 187 Hertfordshire 189 Suffolk 180 Suffolk 187 Devon and Cornwall 186 Wiltshire 189 Surrey 209 Surrey 180 Warwickshire 186 Lincolnshire 189 Sussex 211 Sussex 200 Norfolk 185 Norfolk 188 Thames Valley 180 Thames Valley 183 West Mercia 183 Suffolk 187 Warwickshire 186 Warwickshire 197 North Yorkshire 183 Essex 185 West Mercia 183 West Mercia 195 Thames Valley 180 Thames Valley 183 West Midlands 270 West Midlands 303 Suffolk 180 Surrey 180 West Yorkshire 247 West Yorkshire 242 City of London4 — City of London4 — Wiltshire 195 Wiltshire 189 Total 241 252 Total 241 252 1Full-time equivalents 2Police strength per 100,000 population 3Comparable strength 4City of London and Metropolitan Police combined
§ Mr. CatonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department why Tetra technology was chosen for the UK police force modern digital radio system, excluding competition from other technologies. [147810]
§ Ms BlearsExpert assessments of available technologies were made at the start of the procurement process for the new police radio system. The experts concluded that TETRA was the only standard to meet fully the requirements of the police service.
§ Dr. KumarTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers, broken down by(a) sex and (b) ethnicity, were employed by each English police force in (i) 1992, (ii) 1997, (iii) 2001 and (iv) at the latest date for which figures are available. [148407]
§ Ms BlearsThe available information is given in the following tables:
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Police officer strength1 in England by gender as at 31 March English police forces 1992 1997 2001 2003 Males Avon and Somerset 2,769 2,622 2,530 2,638 Bedfordshire 940 911 837 881 Cambridgeshire 1,107 1,119 1,105 1,144
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Police officer strength 1 in England by gender as at 31 March English police forces 1992 1997 2001 2003 Cheshire 1,649 1,759 1,669 1,725 Cleveland 1,319 1,251 1,163 1,321 Cumbria 1,041 970 870 901 Derbyshire 1,531 1,564 1,553 1,643 Devon and Cornwall 2,769 2,458 2,428 2,600 Dorset 1,135 1,105 1,121 1,165 Durham 1,264 1,229 1,295 1,316 Essex 2,554 2,493 2,419 2,413 Gloucestershire 1,046 979 945 979 Greater Manchester 6,142 5,774 5,627 5,940 Hampshire 2,852 2,917 2,833 2,934 Hertfordshire 1,446 1,453 1,546 1,530 Humberside 1,840 1,761 1,604 1,700 Kent 2,660 2,734 2,683 2,784 Lancashire 2,833 2,722 2,676 2,716 Leicestershire 1,626 1,630 1,707 1,758 Lincolnshire 1,078 1,047 1,034 1,020 City of London 713 739 607 676 Merseyside 4,083 3,561 3,413 3,407 Metropolitan police 24,416 22,779 20,946 23,290 Norfolk 1.288 1,239 1,195 1,250 Northamptonshire 1,044 1,006 959 963 Northumbria 3,117 3,160 3,244 3,272 North Yorkshire 1,249 1,160 1,109 1,197 Nottinghamshire 2,103 2,006 1,795 2,011 South Yorkshire 2,676 2,684 2,600 2,551 Staffordshire 1,883 1,839 1,708 1,766
Police officer strength1 in England by gender as at 31 March English police forces 1992 1997 2001 2003 Suffolk 1,084 996 935 1,003 Surrey 1,491 1,386 1,703 1,501 Sussex 2,665 2,633 2,361 2,390 Thames Valley 3,252 3,106 3,051 3,086 Warwickshire 883 800 780 815 West Mercia 1,783 1,740 1,625 1,822 West Midlands 5,934 5,742 5,775 5,926 West Yorkshire 4,490 4.403 3,985 4,038 Wiltshire 1,080 1,001 914 917 Females Avon and Somerset 312 367 430 511 Bedfordshire 153 183 199 225 Cambridgeshire 143 183 191 240 Cheshire 225 287 334 394 Cleveland 158 209 244 261 Cumbria 138 174 178 239 Derbyshire 175 227 270 360 Devon and Cornwall 312 407 506 602 Dorset 154 179 233 251 Durham 125 232 300 336 Essex 344 468 468 576 Gloucestershire 141 154 228 248 Greater Manchester 919 1,148 1,282 1,403 Hampshire 359 535 602 734 Hertfordshire 249 306 376 428 Humberside 186 284 314 405 Kent 414 526 635 703 Lancashire 365 525 579 623 Leicestershire 219 319 326 355 Lincolnshire 118 149 169 202 City of London 95 120 96 132 Merseyside 583 669 668 692 Metropolitan police 3,738 3,899 3,932 4,694 Norfolk 126 193 225 249 Northamptonshire 114 171 198 247 Northumbria 347 517 614 672 North Yorkshire 149 178 196 246 Nottinghamshire 228 318 417 400 South Yorkshire 332 475 597 633 Staffordshire 293 372 420 436 Suffolk 134 184 197 250 Surrey 215 234 363 406 Sussex 319 452 495 599 Thames Valley 520 589 652 747 Warwickshire 107 126 146 182 West Mercia 251 301 326 434 West Midlands 1,007 1,371 1,648 1,825 West Yorkshire 597 806 830 990 Wiltshire 141 153 206 241 1Full-time equivalents
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Minority ethnic police officer strength1 as at 31 March English police forces 19923 1997 2001 20032 Males Avon and Somerset 18 25 29 36 Bedfordshire 30 0 27 42 Cambridgeshire 18 20 23 29 Cheshire 1 4 6 8 Cleveland 10 15 17 22 Cumbria 2 1 2 3 Derbyshire 23 30 36 53 Devon and Cornwall 2 4 9 15 Dorset 3 5 7 10 Durham 3 6 12 20 Essex 20 25 23 35 Gloucestershire 10 9 14 17 Greater Manchester 105 137 163 199 Hampshire 13 26 33 40 Hertfordshire 13 16 25 33 Humberside 5 9 8 16 Kent 9 13 35 40 Lancashire 25 26 41 64 Leicestershire 49 66 76 82 Lincolnshire 1 3 8 9
Minority ethnic police officer strength1 as at 31 March English police forces 19923 1997 2001 20032 City of London 6 11 14 23 Merseyside 48 61 65 50 Metropolitan police 433 641 840 1,269 Norfolk 0 7 12 14 Northamptonshire 17 25 26 33 Northumbria 11 21 28 45 North Yorkshire 4 7 5 14 Nottinghamshire 40 45 48 68 South Yorkshire 24 58 69 64 Staffordshire 14 21 22 20 Suffolk 4 8 12 18 Surrey 13 17 24 28 Sussex 12 15 22 25 Thames Valley 45 61 71 90 Warwickshire 7 15 18 26 West Mercia 14 23 21 23 West Midlands 145 208 264 315 West Yorkshire 72 108 110 129 Wiltshire 11 11 8 11 Females Avon and Somerset 5 5 5 8 Bedfordshire 11 12 11 9 Cambridgeshire 8 8 8 6 Cheshire 1 1 3 3 Cleveland 2 2 1 1 Cumbria 0 1 1 2 Derbyshire 4 7 9 9 Devon and Cornwall 0 0 3 6 Dorset 0 0 2 2 Durham 1 2 2 5 Essex 2 6 10 15 Gloucestershire 2 3 2 1 Greater Manchester 21 24 25 37 Hampshire 2 5 6 9 Hertfordshire 5 3 6 10 Humberside 1 2 4 6 Kent 2 5 8 11 Lancashire 5 7 11 12 Leicestershire 5 11 16 15 Lincolnshire 2 2 2 3 City of London 2 8 4 5 Merseyside 9 15 16 12 Metropolitan police 130 184 209 316 Norfolk 0 1 3 2 Northamptonshire 2 5 5 6 Northumbria 2 5 5 7 North Yorkshire 0 5 1 Nottinghamshire 11 16 17 13 South Yorkshire 4 11 15 16 Staffordshire 5 6 8 11 Suffolk 2 4 6 9 Surrey 2 3 7 14 Sussex 4 7 8 8 Thames Valley 12 12 21 28 Warwickshire 2 5 5 5 West Mercia 4 3 2 4 West Midlands 47 75 112 124 West Yorkshire 17 22 29 34 Wiltshire 2 2 1 1 1Headcount 2Year 2003 not comparable with previous years as previously published figures exclude officers on career breaks and maternity/paternity leave 3Full-time equivalent