§ Mr. Gordon PrenticeTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables there were in Lancashire in(a) 1992, (b) 1997 and (c) in the latest year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [151759]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeStatistics on the strength of the Special Constabulary have been collected since 1995 by the Home Office research development and statistics directorate. These figures are compiled at the end of March and September each year. Before 1995, figures were collected by Her Majesty's inspectorate of constabulary. The figures for 1992 were compiled at the end of the calendar year.
The Special Constabulary strength figures for Lancashire Special Constabulary for 1992, September 1997 and September 2000 (the latest figures available) are as follows:
December 1992 September 1997 September 2000 Male 313 286 222 Female 226 214 140 Total 539 500 362 We are currently considering a number of recruitment and retention issues in relation to the Special Constabulary with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities with a view to seeing how best to address the decline in the number of special constables in England and Wales.