§ Sir Roger MoateTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what are his proposals for increasing the number of special constables.
§ Mr. HowardI am firmly committed to encouraging the recruitment of special constables and have set a target of 30,000 by the end of 1996. A national advertising campaign to encourage applications was launched at the end of October. As part of the partnership against crime campaign, police forces will be offering applicants the chance to join the specials as a neighbourhood constable, a special who works only in one particular area. I hope that this will broaden the appeal of the specials to a wider range of volunteers.