§ 44. Mr. Spellerasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he has had any applications for an increase in police manpower in Devon; if he will call for a report from the chief constable of Devon and Cornwall as to the priority given to the bobby on the beat; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe Devon and Cornwall police authority applied in June 1986 for a phased increase of 137 police posts, and informed us in September that it was prepared to fund 17 of them in the latter part of this financial year (1986–87), and 53 in 1987–88. An increase of 17 police posts was approved in December 1986, meeting in full the authority's application for 1986–87. We are now considering the application for 1987–88 and hope to announce the outcome shortly.
It is the responsibility of the chief constable to decide how best to deploy the available manpower. It is the policy of chief officers to deploy as many officers as possible on patrol, and I understand that the chief constable of Devon and Cornwall will allocate most of any further increases in police manpower which may be approved to patrol duties.
§ 45. Mr. McLoughlinasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will make a statement on the progress of trials for the tape recording of police interviews with suspects.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe two-year field trials, which were held in five police force areas to test equipment and procedures, ended last year. The Government have announced their intention that tape recording of interviews with suspects in police stations should become standard police practice by 1991. So far 34 police forces have been given grant aid to introduce tape recording in their areas.