§ Mr. WarrenTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers and civilians have been recruited to date since his announcement of increases in May 1986; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Douglas Hogg10,687 police officers were recruited to all forces in England and Wales including the 447W Metropolitan police between the end of May 1986 and 31 October 1987, the latest date for which information is available, either to replace officers who retired or resigned or to enable forces to implement increases in establishment. In this period, the strength of the police service, excluding those who are on secondment, increased by 2,692 police officers, from 119,325 to 122,017. Information on civilian recruitment is not held centrally but the number of civilians rose by 1,704 from 39,621 to 41,325 in the same period.