§ Mr. EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) funded and (b) actual (A) special constables and (B) salaried constables were in post in the Lancashire Constabulary (i) on 31 March 1997 and (ii) at the latest date for which figures are available. [153220]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeThe Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate collect police personnel statistics, including those of the Special Constabulary.
There are no national target numbers for specials, and Lancashire Constabulary advises that they do not differentiate between funded and actual specials. The Special Constabulary strength figures for Lancashire Special Constabulary for 31 March 1997 and 30 September 2000 (the latest figures available) are as follows:
March 1997 September 2000 Total strength 483 362 I understand from the Chief Constable that it is not possible to provide information on the number of funded constable posts as Lancashire does not budget for workforce totals and the force devolves its budget to its Divisional Commanders, who then determine how to use funds to maximise their effectiveness locally. Police Constable numbers for Lancashire Constabulary for 31 March 1997 and 30 September 2000 (the latest figures available) are as follows:
698W
March 1997 September 2000 Total strength 2,493 2,463
§ Mr. EvansTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what reported offences involving violence there were in Lancashire in(a) 1997, (b) 1998, (c) 1999, (d) 2000 and (e) 2001; and how many of those involved (i) village shops and (ii) village post offices. [153221]
§ Mr. Charles ClarkeNumbers of recorded violent crimes in Lancashire by category are given in the table, the most recent published data being for the year ending September 2000. Recorded crime statistics do not generally include the location of offences, and so details of those involving village shops and village post offices are not available. It should be noted that, owing to the change in counting rules on 1 April 1998, figures for recorded crime before and after that date are not directly comparable. For example, from that date, figures for offences of violence against the person additionally include figures for common assault and assault on a constable, among other offences.
Recorded crime in Lancashire—number of recorded crimes in violent crime categories Year ending Violence against the person Sexual offences Robbery March 1998 3,865 966 887 March 1999 10,328 879 982 March 2000 9,803 754 1,058 September 2000 9,832 810 1,065