§ 18. Phil SawfordTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what recent discussions he has had with the chief constable on police numbers in Northamptonshire. [5159]
§ Mr. DenhamI have not had any discussions with the chief constable about police numbers in Northamptonshire.
On 1 October Northamptonshire police had 1,209 officers, 52 more than in March 2001. This is a record number of officers. The force also had 724 civilian staff, 30 more than in March 2001.
Under the crime fighting fund (CFF) recruitment initiative, Northamptonshire police has been allocated a total of 90 additional recruits, over and above its previous recruitment plans for the three years to March 2003.
In 2000–01 Northamptonshire police recruited all 32 of its CFF allocation for that year and had approval to accelerate 31 of its 2001–02 allocation into 2000–01. There will therefore be one CFF recruit in 2001–02 and a further 26 CFF recruits in 2002–03.