§ Mr. PaiceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many officers were serving in the Special Branch of the Metropolitan police on(a) 1 August and (b) 1 October; [9726]
(2) how many police officers there were in the Metropolitan police force area in (a) March 1997 and (b) March 2001; what the difference between these two figures adjusted for boundary changes is; and if he will make a statement; [9719]
(3) how many police were available for active duty in the Metropolitan police force area in (a) March 1997, (b) March 1999, (c) March 2000, and (d) March 2001; and if he will make a statement. [9727]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 24 October 2001]: On 31 March 1997 the Metropolitan police had 26,677 police officers and on 31 March 2001 there were 24,878. I am told by the Commissioner that 466 police officers were seconded to the forces of Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey when the boundary change took effect on 1 April 2000. 253 of these officers have now returned to the 448W Metropolitan police and the remainder should have returned by March 2002. They will return as and when replacements are recruited by the three forces.
The effects of the boundary change were incorporated into the police funding formula and the overall transfer was in terms of financial resources, not of officers. Where data on police numbers are used in the formula, a notional transfer of 887 from the Metropolitan police to the three county forces was applied. Because it is for police authorities and chief constables to decide how resources are utilised, it is not appropriate to convert the notional transfer directly into a full-time equivalent strength for the Metropolitan police immediately prior to the boundary changes.
I am told by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis that the force had 538 Special Branch officers on 1 August and 552 on 1 October 2001.
The number of officers available for active duty cannot be provided by the Metropolitan police. Figures in the table are those for ordinary duty1 for the periods requested.
Year Strength 31 March 1997 26,677 31 March 1999 26,073 31 March 2000 25,485 31 March 2001 24,878 Police numbers in the Metropolitan police have been increasing since September 2000. Between 30 September 2000 and 31 March 2001 police strength increased by 183. This was the largest single increase in police numbers in the force for more than a decade. The overall reduction between March 2000 and March 2001 largely reflects the impact of boundary changes in April 2000.
1 Ordinary duty is equal to the strength of the force.