§ Mr. AllasonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the current authorised establishment of the Devon and Cornwall constabulary; and what was it in 1992. [16539]
§ Mr. MacleanIt is now for individual chief constables and police authorities to determine the number of officers in a force, having regard to the resources available to them. The Devon and Cornwall constabulary had 2,876 police officers in September 1996 compared to 2,898 in March 1992. The chief constable has estimated that the force will have 2,919 officers by the end of March 1997. Since 1992, the number of constables has increased from 2,197 to 2,248.