§ Mr. Wattsasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department which police forces have a lower ratio of police to population than Thames Valley; and which have a higher ratio.
§ Mr. Giles ShawThe police/population ratios which are calculated centrally for police forces in England and Wales show the population per police officer and are published for 31 December each year in the annual reports of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary. On 31 December 1984 the Thames Valley police had a ratio of 562 population per police officer, which was the highest of any police force in England and Wales on that date. The ratio for each police force in England and Wales was as follows:
179W
Population per police officer on 31 December 1984* Area Number Avon and Somerset 454 Bedfordshire 513 Cambridgeshire 527 Cheshire 506 Cleveland 383 Cumbria 428 Derbyshire 516 Devon and Cornwall 514 Dorset 515 Durham 447 Dyfed Powys 478 Essex 534 Gloucestershire 435 Greater Manchester 374 Gwent 450 Hampshire 525 Hertfordshire 527 Humberside 433 Kent 517 Lancashire 436 Leicestershire 499 Lincolnshire 468 Merseyside 326 Norfolk 559 Northamptonshire 526 Northumbria 431 North Wales 476 North Yorkshire 501 Nottinghamshire 439 South Wales 417 South Yorkshire 456 Staffordshire 484 Suffolk 540 Surrey 484 Sussex 478 Thames Valley 562 Warwickshire 517 West Mercia 532 West Midlands 398 West Yorkshire 399
Area Number Wiltshire 511 City of London 8 Metropolitan 266 Note
* Based on the authorised police establishment of each force.