§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the total number of police per head of population was in each police force area in(a) 1979, (b) 1992, (c) 1997 and (d) the latest date for which figures are available. [137860]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe information requested is set out in the table in the form of population per police officer.
644W
Population per officer as at 31 March Force 1979 1992 1997 2000 Avon and Somerset 472 464 491 507 Bedfordshire 549 489 502 541 Cambridgeshire 536 536 540 582 Cheshire 517 516 479 489 City of London 7 5 6 7 Cleveland 426 378 382 396 Cumbria 447 416 429 455 Derbyshire 573 551 537 546 Devon and Cornwall 513 523 538 549 Dorset 520 514 531 529 Durham 460 435 416 390 Dyfed-Powys 474 496 474 461 Essex 555 510 511 547 Gloucestershire 460 459 491 500 Greater Manchester 415 363 372 379 Gwent 454 443 447 441 Hampshire 532 531 508 518 Hertfordshire 451 497 491 497 Humberside 457 431 434 457 Kent 532 501 478 491 Lancashire 442 440 439 449 Leicestershire 490 483 476 456 Lincolnshire 453 496 515 559 Merseyside 349 312 336 345 Metropolitan Police 333 259 284 302 Norfolk 556 537 543 572 Northamptonshire 570 507 513 551 Northumbria 444 414 390 376 North Wales 479 486 479 469 North Yorkshire 493 516 549 578 Nottinghamshire 460 436 444 468 South Wales 439 415 414 424 South Yorkshire 512 430 413 412 Staffordshire 504 481 477 489 Suffolk 557 544 561 586 Surrey 504 450 479 441
Population per officer as at 31 March Force 1979 1992 1997 2000 Sussex 466 479 All 531 Thames Valley 659 523 559 561 Warwickshire 558 495 541 563 West Mercia 560 540 547 602 West Midlands 453 377 371 365 West Yorkshire 437 406 405 438 Wiltshire 518 471 514 542 Total for England and Wales 447 406 414 430