§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will call for reports to show how many applicants for employment with individual police forces, except that of Glasgow, have been rejected by chief constables although the applicants have satisfied the standards set for educational and medical fitness.
§ Mr. Gordon CampbellThe steps in the selection procedure vary from one force to another, so that such figures would not provide a clear or comprehensive picture.
§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will publish a table showing the establishment of each Scottish police force, and the actual manpower of each force.
§ Mr. Gordon CampbellThe authorised establishment and actual strength of each police force in Scotland at 31st December 1972 were as follows:
Force Authorised Establishment Actual Strength Aberdeen 415 395 Angus 202 186 Argyll 139 133 Ayr 704 681 Berwick, Roxburgh and Selkirk 181 167 Dumfries and Galloway 271 243 Dunbarton 464 391 Dundee 454 406 Edinburgh 1,280 1,261 Fife 643 644 Glasgow 3,140 2,799 Inverness 198 192 Lanark 1,233 1,135 Lothians and Peebles 517 507 Northern 119 107 Perth and Kinross 289 287 Renfrew and Bute 748 735 Ross and Sutherland 160 157 Scottish North Eastern Counties 382 367 Stirling and Clackmannan 466 437 Totals 12,005 11,230
§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will call for a report 405W to show how many applicants for employment with the City of Glasgow Police have, after passing educational and medical examinations, been rejected by the chief constable in the last six months.
§ Mr. Gordon CampbellI understand from the Chief Constable of Glasgow that, in the six months up to the end of February 1973, 31 candidates who had passed both medical and educational examinations had their applications for entry to the Glasgow City Police turned down for various reasons. Police regulations leave chief constables wide discretion in these matters.
§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will issue guidance to chief constables to ensure that checks on background and suitability of applicants for police jobs are fair and without political bias.
§ Mr. Gordon CampbellI see no need to issue guidance of this sort.
§ Mr. Sillarsasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will institute an inquiry into police recruitment practices to determine the extent to which it is proper, when checking the background of an applicant, that the political beliefs of the applicant's relatives should be taken into account.
§ Mr. Gordon CampbellI do not think an inquiry would serve a useful purpose. Chief constables have to decide, in relation to all that they know about each applicant, whether or not to recruit him.