§ Derek TwiggTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will call for a report from the Chief Constable of Cheshire on(a) the resources allocated to, and (b) the level of crime, broken down by standard category in, each police division in Cheshire since 1997. [1135]
§ Mr. DenhamThe allocation of resources to the territorial divisions and for other centrally provided operational units in any force is a matter for the professional judgment of the Chief Constable and his senior command team.
The Chief Constable has provided the information in the tables about the allocation of officers to each division, and the level of crime in each of the divisions between 1997–98 and 2000–01.
Since 1997 Cheshire Constabulary has civilianised a significant number of operational support roles. This has contributed to the reduction in police numbers and the increase in civilian numbers. The structure of the force is periodically reviewed and changes are made to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the force. Changes in recent years have resulted in the centralisation of officers deployed on armed response vehicles and the creation of a Central Traffic Enforcement Unit. These changes have reduced the number of officers in the territorial divisions. I understand that the Constabulary plan to recruit 156 officers including 77 under the Crime Fighting Fund by March 2002.
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Cheshire constabulary: resources Police officers 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 Chester and Ellesmere Port 380 360 353 346 Congleton and Vale Royal 272 257 258 271 Halton 275 261 250 240 Warrington 317 311 318 316 Macclesfield 267 249 245 242 Crewe 186 174 166 182 Central Operational and Support functions 345 459 421 405 Total Police Officers 2,042 2,071 2,011 2,002 Civilian Support Staff 781 785 823 833 Total Personnel 2,823 2,856 2,834 2,835 Force Budget (£ million) 102.4 106.7 111.1 115.1
Cheshire constabulary: crime figures 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 Total crime Chester and Ellesmere Port 13,527 15,806 15,065 14,792 Congleton and Vale Royal 9,256 11,349 10,906 10,160 Halton 8,475 9,233 8,759 9,242 Warrington 13,471 13,335 14,286 13,412 Macclesfield 8,481 8,929 8,370 8,587 Crewe 6,245 6,467 7,142 7,095 Cheshire Constabulary 59,455 65,119 64,528 63,288 Violent Crime Chester and Ellesmere Port 909 2,111 1,651 1,676 Congleton and Vale Royal 624 1,140 906 914 Halton 804 1,154 1,019 1,013 Warrington 1,192 1,481 1,475 1,370 Macclesfield 586 911 850 799 Crewe 628 826 744 718 Cheshire Constabulary 4,743 7,623 6,645 6,490
Burglary Dwelling 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 Chester and Ellesmere Port 1,280 1,185 1,095 1,138 Congleton and Vale Royal 972 1,066 850 969 Halton 595 624 612 576 Warrington 1,493 1,027 1,018 984 Macclesfield 1,122 1,110 1,028 960 Crewe 791 913 776 822 Cheshire Constabulary 6,253 5,925 5,379 5,449
Vehicle Crime 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 Chester and Ellesmere Port 2,782 3,127 2,378 2,606 Congleton and Vale Royal 2,174 2,298 2,212 2,018 Halton 1,928 1,889 1,731 2,015 Warrington 3,069 2,737 3,242 2,810 Macclesfield 1,743 1,542 1,453 1,640 Crewe 1,070 854 1,160 1,164 Cheshire Constabulary 12,766 12,447 12,176 12,253