§ Mr. Alan CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what proposals he has to introduce payments for special constables. [70947]
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§ Mr. BoatengNone. 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special constables and recommended that the regulation enabling the discretionary payment of a limited bounty should be repealed. We agree with this recommendation and the relevant regulation will be repealed later this year.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 CampbellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to recruit more special constables. [70952]
§ Mr. BoatengWe 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 CampbellTo 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. BoatengThe provisional figures for the number of special constables in post in each police force area in England and Wales on 30 September 1998 are:
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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.