§ Mr. Bestasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list in the Official Report for each police authority in England and Wales both the establishment and actual numbers of special constables.
§ Mr. MayhewThe number of special constables is within the discretion of the chief officer of police, in consultation with the police authority. Forces are encouraged to enrol as many special constables as they can usefully train and deploy.
The strength of the special constabulary of each force in England and Wales at 30 June 1982, the latest date for which information is available was as follows:
Police force Number of special constables Avon and Somerset 530 Bedfordshire 183 Cambridgeshire 230 Cheshire 237 Cleveland 154 Cumbria 249 Derbyshire 341 Devon and Cornwall 824 Dorset 233 Durham 117 Dyfed Powys 109 Essex 371 Gloucestershire 200 Greater Manchester 379 Gwent 187 Hampshire 404 Hertfordshire 243 Humberside 253 Kent 524 Lancashire 371 Leicestershire 241 Lincolnshire 366 Merseyside 435 Norfolk 224 Northamptonshire 164 Northumbria 556 North Wales 175 North Yorkshire 318 Nottinghamshire 402 South Wales 202 South Yorkshire 252 Staffordshire 421 Suffolk 334 Surrey 230 Sussex 486 Thames Valley 496 Warwickshire 295 West Mercia 417 West Midlands 801 West Yorkshire 428 Wiltshire 201 City of London 69 Metropolitan 1,593