HC Deb 18 March 2004 vol 419 c497W
Mr. Lidington

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many policemen there were in(a) England and Wales and (1) England as per 1,000 population in each year since 1997. [160480]

Ms Blears

Information on number of officers to 100,000 population has been published annually since 1998 in Home Office Statistical Bulletins "Police Service Strength (England and Wales)". Information in the table is on the basis of published data and includes additional data on the number of male officers to 100,000 population.

Police officer strength per 100,000 population
All officers Male officers
England and Wales England England and Wales England
March 1997 241.3 242.2 205.1 205.5
March 1998 239.9 240.7 202.2 202.5
March 1999 237.2 237.8 199.1 199.3
March 2000 232.6 233.0 194.2 194.3
March 2001 234.3 234.3 194.2 193.9
March 2002 240.4 240.2 197.4 197.0
March 20031 252.3 252.4 205.4 205.3
1 Uses comparable police strength, which excludes staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.