HC Deb 25 November 1997 vol 301 cc452-3W
Mr. Barnes

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list(a) the establishments and (b) the current strength of each constabulary in England and Wales. [17199]

Mr. Michael

The Police and Magistrates' Courts Act 1994 removed the power for the Home Secretary to set police establishments. It was left to individual chief officers of police to determine the number of officers in their force. The strength of each force at 30 September 1997 is set out in the table.

Police force numbers for England and Wales (provisional) As at 30 September 1997
Force Number of police officers
Avon and Somerset 2,973
Bedfordshire 1,081
Cambridgeshire 1,228
Cheshire 2,029
City of London 836
Cleveland 1,481
Cumbria 1,162
Derbyshire 1,757
Devon and Cornwall 2,910
Dorset 1,279
Durham 1,479
Dyfed-Powys 1,008
Essex 2,944
Gloucestershire 1,107
Greater Manchester 6,908
Gwent 1,229
Hampshire 3,481
Herfordshire 1,738
Humberside 2,030
Kent 3,301
Lancashire 3,281
Leicestershire 1,958
Lincolnshire 1,189
Merseyside 4,222
Metropolitan Police 26,391
Norfolk 1,440
Northamptonshire 1,181
Northumbria 3,685
North Wales 1,370
North Yorkshire 1,383
Nottinghamshire 2,317
South Wales 2,990
South Yorkshire 3,158
Staffordshire 2,230
Police force numbers for England and Wales (provisional) As at 30 September 1997
Force Number of police officers
Suffolk 1,198
Surrey 1,608
Sussex 3,040
Thames Valley 3,705
Warwickshire 914
West Mercia 2,031
West Midlands 7,079
West Yorkshire 5,250
Wiltshire 1,167
Total 124,751

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