HC Deb 31 July 1998 vol 317 cc858-9W
Sir Norman Fowler

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will list the strength of the police service in England and Wales, broken down to show(a) police and (b) civil staff (i) in total and (ii) by police force. [54045]

Mr. Michael

At the end of March 1998, there were in total 126,944 police officers and 53,480 civilian support staff. This is 214 fewer police officers and 469 more civilians than there were on 31 March 1997. The table sets out the information requested.

Force Police officers Civilian Support Staff
Avon and Somerset 2,975.9 1,392.8
Bedfordshire 1,078.5 522.7
Cambridgeshire 1,291.4 573.6
Cheshire 2,035.9 813.9
City of London 824.9 348.4
Cleveland 1,483.4 586.4
Cumbria 1,163.5 451.5
Derbyshire 1,772.2 787
Devon and Cornwall 2,961.5 1,185.8
Dorset 1,310 700.4
Durham 1,514.8 556.5
Dyfed-Powys 1,002.3 340.6
Essex 2,928.5 1,252.5
Gloucestershire 1,103.9 422.7
Greater Manchester 6,948.7 2,660.6
Gwent 1,232.8 467
Hampshire 3,489.5 1,330.9
Hertfordshire 1,739.9 830.8
Humberside 2,021.2 786.2
Kent 3,251.8 1,521.3
Lancashire 3,257.1 1,142.7
Leicestershire 1,983.1 774.1
Lincolnshire 1,191.1 539.8
Merseyside 4,217.4 1,502.4
Metropolitan Police 26,192.7 12,432.3
Norfolk 1,429.6 646.4
Northamptonshire 1,168.7 577
Northumbria 3,766.7 1,356.8
North Wales 1,396 525
North Yorkshire 1,367.2 542.9
Nottinghamshire 2,322.6 986.6
South Wales 2,986.2 1,241.3
South Yorkshire 3,182 1,243
Staffordshire 2,292.1 900.5
Suffolk 1,185.8 583.4
Surrey 1,608.4 743.2
Sussex 3,037.7 1,201
Thames Valley 3,775.5 1,826.7
Warwickshire 924.1 409.8
West Mercia 2,011.8 1,007.6
West Midlands 7,156.5 2,816.5
West Yorkshire 5,154.7 2,429.9
Wiltshire 1,148.3 519.2
Total strength of the forces 124,885.9 53,479.7
Central services1 736 —
Regional Crime Squads2 1,289 —
Inter-force units3 33 —
Total police service strength 126,943.9 53,479.7
1 Central services includes officers seconded by forces to national police training, NCIS, Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and the Information Technology Organisation
2 From 1 April 1998 regional crime squads became the National Crime Squad
3 These are units set up between forces to provide a common service. An example of this is the Regional Driving School at Devizes