Mr. Wheelerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for reports from the chief officers of each of the 43 police forces in England and Wales as to whether it is their practice to suggest to applicants to the regular force who are not accepted that they may be interested in joining the Special Constabulary as an alternative and for those forces where this policy has been adopted, whether information is available as to the percentage of unsuccessful applicants to the regular force actually going into the Special Constabulary.
§ Mr. HurdWe know from reports received in 1982 that 40 forces in England and Wales encourage suitable unsuccessful applicants for the regular force to join the Special Constabulary. Information is not held centrally on the percentage who actually join.