§ Mr. Conwayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the total number of special constables in each of the past six years.
§ Mr. HurdThe figures as at 31 December each year are as follows:
Number 1978 16,952 1979 15,960 1980 15,108 1981 14,978 1982 15,160 1983 15,331
§ Mr. Conwayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what is the number of vacancies for special constables, by force area, at the latest date for which figures are available;
(2) what is the current special constable establishment by force area.
§ Mr. HurdThere is no centrally approved establishment figure for special constables. Their appointment is at the discretion of individual chief officers, who are encouraged to enrol as many specials as they can usefully train and deploy. The number of special constables in each force on 31 December 1983 was:
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Number enrolled in special constabulary at 31 December 1983 Police force Number Avon and Somerset 499 Bedfordshire 163 Cambridgeshire 212 Cheshire 231
Police force Number Cleveland 97 Cumbria 200 Derbyshire 378 Devon and Cornwall 772 Dorset 202 Durham 128 Dyfed Powys 156 Essex 351 Gloucestershire 197 Greater Manchester 361 Gwent 147 Hampshire 416 Hertfordshire 240 Humberside 262 Kent 525 Lancashire 376 Leicestershire 254 Lincolnshire 339 Merseyside 459 Norfolk 180 Northamptonshire 182 Northumbria 603 North Wales 201 North Yorkshire 282 Nottinghamshire 446 South Wales 229 South Yorkshire 265 Staffordshire 456 Suffolk 322 Surrey 208 Sussex 493 Thames Valley 544 Warwickshire 341 West Mercia 471 West Midlands 832 West Yorkshire 477 Wiltshire 159 City of London 61 Metropolitan 1,614 TOTAL 15,331
§ Mr. Conwayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what percentage of the total number of man-hours served per annum by the police forces in England and Wales is accounted for by the special constabulary.
§ Mr. HurdThe information requested is not available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost.
§ Mr. Conwayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total number of man-hours served per annum by police forces in England and Wales.
§ Mr. HurdThe information requested is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. On 31 March 1984 the total strength of the police service in England and Wales was 121,053; and 34,624 full-time civilians and 7,591 part-time civilians were employed.
§ Mr. Conwayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what percentage of the total cost of the police training is allocated to the training of special constables;
(2) what is the current cost of training a police constable;
(3) if he will estimate the average current cost of training a special constable.
§ Mr. HurdInformation on the costs of training, which vary from force to force, is not collected centrally.
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§ Mr. Conwayasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current cost of providing a special constabulary by force area.
§ Mr. HurdInformation on expenditure on the special constabulary in the financial year 1983–84 is not yet available. The information for 1982–83 by police area is as follows:
Police area £ Avon and Somerset 10,220.60 Bedfordshire 14,080.74 Cambridgeshire 6,060.03 Cheshire 13,091.25 Cleveland 10,056.83 Cumbria 7,152.09 Derbyshire 26,822.56 Devon and Cornwall 47,990.10 Dorset 224.00 Durham 10,161.74 Dyfed Powys 954.59 Essex 47,184.73 Gloucestershire 7,291.00 Greater Manchester 51,660.87 Gwent 1,609.18 Hampshire 21,249.00 Hertfordshire 2,266.22 Humberside 22,864.18 Kent 3,940.29 Lancashire 34,156.43 Leicestershire 9,721.46 Lincolnshire 16,369.00 Merseyside 85,593.14 Norfolk 5,073.80 Northamptonshire 3,951.91 Northumbria 25,723.19 North Wales 1,943.13 North Yorkshire 19,371.87 Nottinghamshire 7,411.39 South Wales 15,235.83 South Yorkshire 29,027.87 Staffordshire 37,530.07 Suffolk 4,275.69 Surrey 4,310.00 Sussex 13,892.92 Thames Valley 18,757.99 Warwickshire 28,151.00 West Mercia 11,725.91 West Midlands 59,490.83 West Yorkshire 21,964.00 Wiltshire 10,703.84 City of London 48,419.18 Metropolitan 622,484.00