§ Mr. Leightonasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many policemen per thousand of the population there are in the London borough of Newham; and how this compares with other London boroughs and the rest of the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. Mayhew:I can answer only for England and Wales. For the London borough of Newham there were 2.5 police officers per thousand of the population on October 1982. This ratio is based on the strength of the police divisions covering the borough and on 1981 population census figures. The corresponding ratios for other London boroughs generally varied between less than two and six. For the Metropolitan Police district as a whole, there were 2.8 officers per thousand of the population. These figures exclude headquarters and centrally controlled staffs. If these are included the ratio becomes 3.6 per thousand. The corresponding figure for the rest of England and Wales was 2.2 on 30 September 1982.