§ 81. Mr. WoodTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what measures his Department is taking to secure value for money in the police service.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe Home Office shares with chief officers of police and local police authorities the responsibility for securing value for money in the police service. Significant improvements in efficiency and effectiveness have been achieved, with the encouragement and support of my Department and Her Majesty's inspectors of constabulary, through, for example, the civilianisation of police posts (some 3,300 police officers were released for operational duties in this way in the last five years or so); the streamlining of procedures and the elimination of unnecessary paperwork; the contracting out of support services; and the introduction of efficiency scrutinies in the police service. The Home Office pays full regard to value for money in exercising central controls on police manpower and capital expenditure on land and buildings, and in fulfilling my right hon. Friend's responsibilities as police authority for the Metropolitan police; in providing central services for training, research and development, science and technology; and in promoting good practice across a wide range of police activity.
716Wthis kind are generally completed within a month. Priority is, however, given to cases involving serious offences and where there is a good quality mark, and the time taken in a particular case will depend therefore on the nature of the offence and the quality of the mark obtained at the scene.