HC Deb 15 February 1999 vol 325 cc510-2W
Mr. Alan Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to introduce payments for special constables. [70947]

Mr. Boateng

None. A pilot scheme was conducted in Dorset between 1991 and 1993 whereby special constables who performed 125 hours duty in a six month period qualified for a bounty payment of £200. The results of the scheme were inconclusive and the Police Service did not consider that a bounty should be mandatory for special constables.

During its review of 1995–96, the Special Constabulary Working Group received evidence suggesting that the overwhelming majority of special constables valued their voluntary status highly and did not want this to be changed. As a result, the Group concluded that a bounty should not be paid to special constables and recommended that the regulation enabling the discretionary payment of a limited bounty should be repealed. We agree with this recommendation and the relevant regulation will be repealed later this year.

Mr. Alan Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to recruit more special constables. [70952]

Mr. Boateng

We support the police forces' recruitment campaigns by holding a Specials Week during which I and a number of my ministerial colleagues attend events held by forces around the country to highlight and promote the service provided by special constables. To complement these activities, some forces are supported with local press and radio advertising costing £500,000. In addition, the Home Office has produced a recruitment video, a series of posters, and a recruitment brochure for the forces.

Mr. Alan Campbell

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what is the total number of special constables currently serving in each police authority area; and what is the cost. [70953]

Mr. Boateng

The provisional figures for the number of special constables in post in each police force area in England and Wales on 30 September 1998 are:

Area Number
Avon and Somerset 584
Bedfordshire 175
Cambridgeshire 308
Cheshire 416
City of London 69
Cleveland 136
Cumbria 210
Derbyshire 355
Devon and Cornwall 916
Dorset 303
Durham 159
Dyfed-Powys 237
Essex 590
Gloucestershire 245
Greater Manchester 567
Gwent 114
Hampshire 747
Hertfordshire 267
Humberside 289
Kent 565
Lancashire 465
Leicestershire 350
Lincolnshire 233
Merseyside 463
Metropolitan 1,214
Norfolk 351
Northamptonshire 262
Area Number
Northumbria 360
North Wales 336
North Yorkshire 302
Nottinghamshire 530
South Wales 360
South Yorkshire 266
Staffordshire 558
Suffolk 402
Surrey 226
Sussex 415
Thames Valley 587
Warwickshire 323
West Mercia 499
West Midlands 784
West Yorkshire 590
Wiltshire 176
Total 17,304

The costs of special constabularies are not collected centrally.

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