§ 20. Mr. Chris DaviesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what estimate he has made of the number of police officers serving in England on 31 March 1997. [10568]
§ Mr. MacleanIt is for chief constables to decide how to allocate their resources. On the basis of initial estimates, chief constables have said that they expect police numbers to increase by around 790 in England in the 12 months ending March 1997. This would mean a total of around 121,000 officers in England.
§ 21. Mr. Jacques ArnoldTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what was the strength of the police forces in(a) 1979 and (b) 1997. [10569]
§ Mr. MacleanThere were 111,493 police officers in England and Wales in May 1979. By the end of September 1996, the latest date for which figures are 731W available, police numbers had increased by almost 16,000 to 127,123.