HC Deb 23 December 1964 vol 704 cc314-7W
Sir E. Boyle

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the numbers of police, and of mobile traffic police, respectively, on the strength of each police force in England and Wales at the latest convenient date, showing the increase or decrease over the preceding 12 months.

Sir F. Soskice

The number of police officers on the strength of each police force in England and Wales on 30th November, 1964, and the increases and decreases over the preceding 12 months are given in the appended table. Equivalent figures of the number of mobile traffic police are not available, except for the Metropolitan Police, where they are: present strength 858, an increase of 11 on 1963.

A survey conducted by the Association of Chief Police Officers for England and Wales recently showed that at that time, for all forces in England and Wales including the Metropolitan Police, the proportion of the total strength represented by road traffic departments was 10.52 per cent., but not all these personnel were mobile traffic police.

Following is the table

Strength as at 30th November, 1964 Increase or decrease since 30th November, 1963
Bedfordshire 431 -159 (Luton force established on 12th April, 1964)
Berkshire 471 -1
Buckinghamshire 692 +1
Cambridgeshire 153 +10
Carmarthen and Cardigan 339 +1
Cheshire 1,302 +108
Cornwall 444 +2
Cumberland 375 +5
Westmorland 107 —
Denbighshire 305 +12
Derbyshire 780 -6
Devon 839 +26
Dorset 455 -11
Durham 1,691 -8
Ely, Isle of 146 +3
Essex 1,450 +45
Flintshire 232 +14
Glamorgan 1,062 -12
Gloucestershire 885 +55
Gwynedd 303 +7
Hampshire 1,125 +47
Herefordshire 210 +1
Hertfordshire 894 +4
Huntingdonshire 136 +7
Kent 1,761 -36
Lancashire 3,524 +72
Leicestershire and Rutland 648 +14
Lincolnshire 880 +30
Mid-Wales 226 -18
Monmouthshire 455 —
Norfolk 528 +27
Northamptonshire 405 -2
Northumberland 703 +19
Nottinghamshire 811 -13
Oxfordshire 287 -11
Pembrokeshire 172 -9
Peterborough 127 +6
Strength as at 30th November,1964 Increase or decrease since 30th November, 1963
Shropshire … 426 +25
Somerset … 651 -3
Staffordshire … 1,479 +40
Suffolk, East … 331 +8
Suffolk, West … 217 +9
Surrey … 967 +22
Sussex, East … 509 -12
Sussex, West … 587 +3
Warwickshire … 770 +9
Wiltshire … 559 +11
Worcestershire … 609 -14
Yorkshire, East Riding … 303 -9
Yorkshire, North Riding … 639 -10
Yorkshire, West Riding … 2,481 +5
Barnsley … 140 +6
Barrow … 137 +9
Bath … 139 +4
Birkenhead … 311 +5
Birmingham … 2,135 +52
Blackburn … 201 -3
Blackpool … 334 +19
Bolton … 295 +12
Bootle … 157 +5
Bournemouth … 305 +17
Bradford … 597 +5
Brighton … 329 +11
Bristol … 978 +15
Burnley … 162 +7
Cambridge … 167 +7
Cardiff … 499 +13
Carlisle … 136 +5
Coventry … 495 +9
Derby … 257 +9
Dewsbury … 104 +7
Doncaster … 148 +10
Dudley … 106 —
Eastbourne … 133 +9
Exeter … 169 +10
Gateshead … 190 +14
Great Yarmouth … 109 +1
Grimsby … 197 +7
Halifax … 187 +8
Hastings … 132 +5
Huddersfield … 214 -8
Hull … 610 -15
Ipswich … 180 +2
Leeds … 872 +3
Leicester … 466 +15
Lincoln … 148 -4
Liverpool … 1,837 -113
Luton … 202 +202 (new force)
Manchester … 1,728 +2
Merthyr Tydfil … 117 +3
Middlesbrough … 320 +16
Newcastle-upon-Tyne … 591 +27
Newport (Mon.) … 221 +8
Northampton … 186 +13
Norwich … 237 +5
Nottingham … 654 +12
Oldham … 215 -2
Oxford … 226 +13
Plymouth … 419 +17
Portsmouth … 444 +1
Preston … 245 +6
Reading … 210 -3
Rochdale … 177 +3
Rotherham … 142 -2
St. Helens … 204 +5
Salford … 324 -4
Strength as at 30th November,1964 Increase or decrease since 30th November,1963
Sheffield … 788 -4
Southampton … 412 +13
Southend-on-Sea … 375 +13
Southport … 173 -6
South Shields … 180 +1
Stockport … 256 +27
Stoke-on-Trent … 440 +12
Sunderland … 312 +14
Swansea … 310 +29
Tynemouth … 129 +2
Wakefield … 100 +3
Wallasey … 204 +6
Walsall … 215 +6
Warrington … 152 +2
Wigan … 160 +1
Wolverhampton … 241 -6
Worcester … 130 +5
York … 198 +10
City of London … 756 -9
Metropolitan Police … 18,436 -33