§ Mr. Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many copies he has distributed or intends to distribute of the Government leaflet explaining the new procedures for complaints against the police; what is the total cost to date; and, if, in view of the high level of calls on police manpower and pressures on police budgets, he considers it necessary to add this new requirement at this time.
§ Mr. Merlyn Rees68,000 copies of the leaflet "Police and Public" have been issued to police forces and 1,400 to the National Association of Citizens' Advice Bureaux. Further copies from the total initial print of 150,000 are being supplied on request. The cost of design, printing and initial distribution was £1,400.
500WThe leaflet, which describes the procedure for the handling of complaints under the Police Acts 1964 and 1976, is a revised version of a leaflet first issued in 1965 to implement recommendation 97 of the Royal Commission on the Police 1962 (Cmnd. 1728). I am satisfied that such a leaflet continues to be necessary and have asked chief officers to arrange for copies of it to be made available to members of the public who make complaints against police officers.
§ Mr. Eldon Griffithsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will state the cost of preparing and the numbers he expects to distribute of his new leaflet on complaints against the police in the following languages: Urdu, Punjabi, Gujerati, Bengali, Hindi and Welsh.
§ Mr. Merlyn ReesAs these translations have not yet been produced, it is not possible to state the cost. I am consulting chief officers about how many copies of leaflets in these languages will be required.