HC Deb 20 June 1996 vol 279 cc540-1W
Ms Jowell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers were employed in each police force area for each year since 1980; and how many were employed as beat officers. [32587]

Mr. Maclean

Information on police strength from 1980 to 1995 can be found in the appendix to the annual reports of Her Majesty's chief inspector of constabulary, copies of which are in the Library. Details of police strength for each force at March 1996 are set out in table A.

Information on the number of officers specifically assigned to beat duties is not available. Information on patrol strength in each force is available from 1991 and is set out in table B.

Police strength in England and Wales as at 31 March 1996
Force Total police ranks
Avon and Somerset 2,981
Bedfordshire 1,128
Cambridgeshire 1,238
Cheshire 1,975
City of London 869
Cleveland 1,420
Cumbria 1,115
Derbyshire 1,763
Devon and Cornwall 2,899
Dorset 1,263
Durham 1,401
Dyfed-Powys 991
Essex 2,884
Gloucestershire 1,133
Greater Manchester 6,938
Gwent 1,044
Hampshire 3,347
Hertfordshire 1,712
Humberside 2,041
Kent 3,120
Lancashire 3,171
Leicestershire 1,908
Lincolnshire 1,147
Merseyside 4,411
Metropolitan police 27,343
Norfolk 1,401
Northamptonshire 1,153
Northumbria 3,668
North Wales 1,378
North Yorkshire 1,324
Nottinghamshire 2,318
South Wales 3,027
South Yorkshire 3,073
Staffordshire 2,209
Suffolk 1,138
Surrey 1,644
Sussex 3,074
Thames Valley 3,674
Warwickshire 979
West Mercia 2,017
West Midlands 7,145
West Yorkshire 5,142
Wiltshire 1,219
Police strength—patrol1
Force 31 December 1991 31 December 1992 31 December 1993 31 March 1995
Avon and Somerset 1,748 1,693 1,617 1,625
Bedfordshire 603 521 580 518
Cambridgeshire 665 656 649 669
Cheshire 981 1,007 1,051 1,024
City of London 394 360 355 380
Cleveland 849 836 814 816
Cumbria 719 662 673 649
Derbyshire 943 1,045 988 947
Devon and Cornwall 1,579 1,728 1,690 1,661
Dorset 718 746 735 727
Durham 747 778 762 770
Dyfed-Powys 570 593 589 605
Essex 1,591 1,609 1,533 1,531
Gloucestershire 630 645 592 628
Greater Manchester 3,555 3,666 3,577 3,552
Gwent 616 606 611 599
Hampshire 1,888 1,703 1,980 1,980
Hertfordshire 966 926 996 970
Humberside 1,008 1,142 1,099 1,182
Kent 1,954 1,900 1,837 1,531
Lancashire 1,733 1,805 1,726 1,593
Leicestershire 1,087 970 1,003 1,020
Lincolnshire 737 713 761 736
Merseyside 2,389 2,453 2,488 2,573
Metropolitan police 13,286 14,392 14,561 14,684
Norfolk 811 804 799 807
North Wales 818 794 796 798
North Yorkshire 865 811 785 781
Northamptonshire 649 698 729 720
Northumbria 1,897 1,756 1,974 2,149
Nottinghamshire 1,337 1,311 1,349 1,284
South Wales 1,834 1,953 1,985 2,023
South Yorkshire 1,724 1,657 1,694 1,682
Staffordshire 1,091 1,304 1,234 1,314
Suffolk 665 713 732 706
Surrey 1,157 1,007 1,010 879
Sussex 1,870 1,799 1,710 1,543
Thames Valley 1,961 2,017 2,061 2,104
Warwickshire 510 475 510 471
West Mercia 1,320 1,167 1,256 1,199
West Midlands 3,780 3,702 3,524 3,546
West Yorkshire 2,865 2,710 2,616 2,707
Wiltshire 621 632 661 612
1Based on returns provided by police forces, showing officers who spend more than 50 per cent, of their time on patrol duties. These include foot, car, beat and dog patrol, and mounted officers.

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