§ Norman BakerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers below pensionable age left the police force in England and Wales in 2001, broken down by police authority area. [30453]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 29 January 2002]: There is no single set retirement age from the police service. All officers may retire upon completion of 30 years service or upon completion of 25 years service after the age of 50. Officers may continue to serve up to the age of 55, or until 60 for ranks above sergeant. Chief officers, or the Police Authority in the case of the chief officer, have discretion to extend the compulsory retirement age for any officer by up to five years.
Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary collect information annually about the number of officers who have left the police service. The table shows the most recent figures, which are for 2000–01.
46W
Force Ordinary retirements Other wastage1 Avon and Somerset 67 67 Bedfordshire 13 38 Cambridgeshire 32 34 Cheshire 40 41 City of London 18 20 Cleveland 33 18 Cumbria 29 34 Derbyshire 27 25 Devon and Cornwall 94 37 Dorset 42 25 Durham 27 23 Dyfed-Powys 25 22 Essex 65 78 Gloucestershire 28 22 Greater Manchester 128 175 Gwent 27 26 Hampshire 95 91 Hertfordshire 40 72 Humberside 68 51 Kent 74 82 Lancashire 75 56 Leicestershire 29 48 Lincolnshire 41 13 Merseyside 79 80 Metropolitan Police 451 703 Norfolk 39 22 Northamptonshire 25 22 Northumbria 62 67 North Wales 32 43 North Yorkshire 27 41 Nottinghamshire 59 28 South Wales 45 105 South Yorkshire 74 60 Staffordshire 42 25 Suffolk 38 27 Surrey 34 59 Sussex 89 64 Thames Valley 71 120 Warwickshire 25 21 West Mercia 50 47 West Midlands 142 141 West Yorkshire 116 90 Wiltshire 28 24 England and Wales 2,645 2,885 1 medical retirements, resignations, dismissals and deaths
§ David WrightTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there are per head of population in(a) the West Mercia Constabulary and (b) on average in England and Wales. [32543]
§ Mr. DenhamThis information is published in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin in the form of police officers per 100,000 population. In West Mercia there were 173.9 police officers per 100,000 of population as at 30 September 2001 and 240.3 per 100,000 of population in England and Wales.
§ Mr. BarkerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many full-time police officers(a) are employed by East Sussex Constabulary and (b) were employed in 1997. [33917]
§ Mr. DenhamOn 30 September Sussex police had 2,837 police officers. On 31 March 1997 the force had 3,085 officers. I understand that the former Chief Constable allowed police numbers to fall because he civilianised a substantial number of operational support jobs that could more effectively be undertaken by civilian support staff. The reduction was not in front-line officers.
47WBetween March 1997 and September 2001 civilian support staff numbers increased by 357 to 1,506 full-time equivalents.