§ Mr. Mike O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what was the total annual budget for special constables in England and Wales in each year since 1979;
(2) what was the total annual budget for special constables for each constabulary in England and Wales in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. Charles WardleThis information is not centrally available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. Each police force has its own special constabulary which is funded centrally through the police grant. There is no separate financial provision for special constables, and such budgetary information is not centrally collected.
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many special constables were on establishment in England and Wales in each year since 1979;
(2) how many special constables were on establishment in England and Wales in each constabulary in each of the last five years.
§ Mr. Charles WardleSpecial constables are not included in the assessment of police establishments. They are usually recruited on a divisional basis to supplement the numbers of regular officers, although there is currently a national campaign to encourage members of the public to volunteer.
Available statistics for the number of volunteers serving in special constabularies in England and Wales in 1980–1993 are given in table A. Figures for 1979 are not available.
The figures provided by individual constabularies for the years 1989–1993 are given in table B.
Table A Year Number 1980 15,108 1981 14,978 1982 15,160 1983 15,331 1984 16,012 1985 16,161 1986 16,070 1987 16,209 1988 15,788 1989 15,589 1990 15,881 1991 18,073 1992 19,243 1993 20,566 249W
Table B Forces 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 Avon and Somerset 503 536 568 712 770 Bedfordshire 137 122 167 199 192 Cambridge 169 173 198 182 245 Cheshire 219 244 299 274 387 City of London 60 56 68 85 89 Cleveland 139 143 177 195 232 Cumbria 210 193 246 230 248 Derbyshire 251 275 347 335 423 Devon and Cornwall 852 913 984 946 1,067 Dorset 218 214 254 263 239 Durham 149 152 165 203 258 Dyfed-Powys 189 210 315 260 271 Essex 445 482 642 759 751
Forces 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 Gloucestershire 209 206 224 274 315 Greater Manchester 473 517 530 570 617 Gwent 95 76 80 101 109 Hampshire 362 369 529 587 611 Hertfordshire 203 206 202 247 294 Humberside 249 273 316 422 446 Kent 500 501 484 554 587 Lancashire 432 377 474 539 565 Leicestershire 327 357 371 379 392 Lincolnshire 365 356 397 416 383 Merseyside 296 295 340 367 389 Norfolk 269 268 312 346 366 North Wales 175 199 256 295 298 North Yorkshire 334 383 387 388 497 Northamptonshire 240 218 271 302 330 Northumbria 538 534 571 512 517 Nottinghamshire 485 470 556 593 551 South Wales 261 257 352 432 534 South Yorkshire 316 317 371 412 473 Staffordshire 566 592 702 733 770 Suffolk 329 354 373 386 414 Surrey 174 215 214 251 232 Sussex 530 495 571 548 512 Thames Valley 568 532 564 606 623 Warwickshire 347 361 384 350 350 West Mercia 542 509 526 611 629 West Midlands 673 743 843 955 918 West Yorkshire 568 562 735 613 708 Wiltshire 269 261 273 322 349 Provincial Total 14,236 14,516 16,638 17,754 18,951 Metropolitan Police 1,353 1,365 1,435 1,489 1,615 England and Wales Total 15,589 15,881 18,073 19,243 20,566
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what changes he proposes to(a) the duties and (b) the powers of special constables;
(2) how the duties and powers of special constables have altered over the past 10 years.
§ Mr. Charles WardleThe deployment of special constables and the duties to which they may be assigned always has been, and continues to be, an operational decision for which chief officers are responsible and which varies according to local circumstances and the training, experience and preferences of the special constables concerned. No changes have been made to the powers of special constables over the past 10 years: nor are any changes currently being contemplated.
§ Mr. Mike O'BrienTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many hours were worked by special constables(a) per week and (b) per month in (i) 1992, (ii) 1993 and (iii) 1985.
§ Mr. Charles WardleThis information is not centrally available and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.