HC Deb 30 July 1980 vol 989 cc697-8W
Mr. Hawksley

asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are the authorised strengths and the actual strengths of the special constabularies of each police authority area.

Mr. Whitelaw

The number of special constables appointed is within the discretion of the chief officer of police, in consultation with the police authority. The strength of the special constabulary of each police force in England and Wales at 31 December 1979, the latest date for which figures are available, was as follows:

Police Force Number of Special Constables
Avon and Somerset 534
Bedfordshire 177
Cambridgeshire 381
Cheshire 203
Cleveland 165
Cumbria 256
Derbyshire 362
Devon and Cornwall 1,028
Dorset 274
Durham 112
Dyfed Powys 164
Essex 344
Gloucestershire 255
Greater Manchester 399
Gwent 224
Hampshire 378
Hertfordshire 227
Humberside 280
Kent 495
Lancashire 384
Leicestershire 239
Lincolnshire 378
Merseyside 336
Norfolk 277
Northamptonshire 199
Northumbria 520
North Wales 421
North Yorkshire 312
Nottinghamshire 431
South Wales 201
South Yorkshire 247
Staffordshire 452
Suffolk 367
Surrey 219
Sussex 416
Thames Valley 517
Warwickshire 287
West Mercia 435
West Midlands 700
West Yorkshire 368
Wiltshire 238
City of London 94
Metropolitan 1,674