§ Mr. Barry FieldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he intends removing the requirement for police officers(a) to serve warrants for non-payment of fines and (b) to act as coroners' officers.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggArrangements for service of warrants for non-payment of fines are settled locally between police forces and the courts. As much as possible should be dealt with by civilian staff rathern than police officers in order to release the latter for operational duties.
As regards coroners' officers, it has been suggested to police authorities, chief officers of police and the coroners' service that civilians rather than police officers should be appointed to such posts. This is in line with the conclusion of the Broderick committee on coroners.
§ Mrs. Maureen HicksTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many extra police have been allocated to the West Midlands police force for each year between 1974 and 1988.
§ Mr. Douglas HoggThe information is as follows:
420W
Year Posts approved 1974 and 1975 — 1976 38 1977 to 1980 —
Year Posts approved 1981 175 1982 to 1987 — 1988 70