§ 37. Linda PerhamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what plans he has to increase the number of police officers. [21141]
§ Mr. DenhamBy next spring police strength will have reached the all time record of 128,290 officers. I have set a target for police strength to reach 130,000 officers by spring 2003.
To help forces reach these targets, the Crime Fighting Fund (CFF) is funding the recruitment of 9,000 officers over and above forces previous recruitment plans in the three years to March 2003. In addition, the first ever national recruitment campaign for the police service was launched in August 2000. By early December 2001 over 45,000 expressions of interest generated by the campaign had been forwarded to forces.