§ Mr. McNamaraasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) whether he will call for a report from the chief constable of Humberside concerning the use of policewomen on Humberside as market research interviewers conducting an opinion poll on the public appreciation of the Humberside police;
(2) if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Humberside on the cost of using policewomen to conduct a market research survey;
(3) if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Humberside on the hours spent by policewomen on Humberside in conducting a public opinion poll on the police force on Humberside;
(4) whether he has issued advice to the Association of Chief Constables concerning the use of members of the constabulary as market researchers;
(5) whether he will call for a report from the chief constable of Humberside as to why policewomen taking part in a market research project on the popularity of Humberside police were issued with identification cards of the market research firm involved in the project.
§ Mr. HurdI understand that the decision by the chief constable of Humberside to use women police officers to help conduct a public attitude survey was taken on the ground of cost.
The officers did not carry cards identifying them as employees of the market research agency conducting the survey; they carried ordinary business cards of the agency in order to be able to provide the address and telephone number of the agency, if asked. I understand that no separate assessment is available of the cost or hours involved but that less than 20 officers took part at some time in the two weeks the survey lasted. The deployment of police officers is the responsibility of the chief constable. We shall shortly be issuing guidance to forces on local public surveys which will include guidance on the use of police manpower for this purpose.