§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in the Lancashire Constabulary in(a) 1992, (b) 1997, (c) 2002 and (d) the latest year for which figures are available. [176283]
§ Ms BlearsThe information requested is given in the table.
Police officer strength1 Lancashire Constabulary Number 31 March 1992 3,198 31 March 1997 3,247 31 March 2002 3,304 31 March 20032 3,339 1full time equivalents 2comparable with previously published data i.e. excludes staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. The latest available figures for the end of the year were issued with Home Office Press Release 095/2004 on 2 March 2004. On 31 December 2003 Lancashire Constabulary police officer strength was 3,549.