HC Deb 20 July 2001 vol 372 cc647-9W
Mr. Clappison

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the recruitment targets were for, and how many officers were recruited to, the Hertfordshire police force in each year since 1997. [3628]

Mr. Denham

I am advised by Hertfordshire constabulary that the force set no target for recruitment in 1997–98 or 1998–99. The force has advised me that the number of new recruits and the number of transfers in to the force in each year from 1997–98 to 2000–01, and the recruitment targets for 1999–2000 and 2000–01 were as follows:

1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01
Recruitment target 1 1 160 250
Number of police officers recruited2 63 67 147 111
Number of transfers in 15 12 28 31
1None set
22 Excluding transfers in from England and Wales

Under the Crime Fighting Fund (CFF) recruitment initiative, Hertfordshire constabulary has been allocated a total of 107 additional recruits, over and above their existing recruitment plans for the three years to March 2003.

The force encountered some recruitment difficulties in the first year of the scheme (2000–01) and their bid to defer all 40 of their 2000–01 CFF allocation into 2001–02 was approved.

According to the latest recruitment profile received from the force, they intend to recruit all of their revised 2001–02 CFF allocation of 70 this year. The force has been allocated 37 CFF recruits in 2002–03.

Mr. Clappison

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many officers left the Hertfordshire police force other than through retirement in each year since 1997; and what these figures are expressed as a percentage of the total numbers of police officers in(a) Hertfordshire and (b) England and Wales. [3621]

Mr. Denham

The available information is given in the table:

Number of officers who left Hertfordshire Constabulary through resignation and other wastage
Percentage of officers
Financial year Number of officers Hertfordshire England and Wales
1997–98 44 2.5 0.035
1998–99 46 2.7 0.036
1999–2000 48 2.7 0.039
2000–01 69 3.6 0.055

Hertfordshire Constabulary expanded on 1 April 2000 when it took over an area previously administered by the Metropolitan police, and consequently the 2000–01 figures are based on a larger number of officers.

Mr. Clappison

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special police officers have been recruited to serve in(a) Hertfordshire and (b) Hertsmere in each year since 1997; and what the target for recruitment was in each case. [3631]

Mr. Denham

Recruitment statistics for the Special Constabulary are collected by force area. The figures available for Hertfordshire in each year since 1997 are set out in the table. I understand from the Chief Constable that the force can only provide data on Hertsmere following the boundary changes with the Metropolitan police on 1 April 2000. The Hertsmere figure is in brackets.

Number
1996–97 61
1997–98 53
1998–99 33
1999–2000 31
2000–01 27(6)

Source:

Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate

I am also told by the Chief Constable that Hertfordshire Constabulary has no set target for the recruitment of Special Constables but is working towards increasing the number. The force had 198 Special constables on 31 March 2000.