Police Officers

HC Deb 23 July 2002 vol 389 cc1049-50W

Norman Baker

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many and what percentage of police officers accepted into the Metropolitan Police in each year from 1997 have minor criminal records. [30452]

Mr. Denham

[holding answer 29 January 2002]: I am informed by the Commissioner that no central record of this information is held by the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS).

The MPS follow the Home Office National Recruitment Standards on criminal convictions, agreed with the Police Service and issued in October 2001.

Applicants who have been convicted or cautioned may still be eligible for appointment, depending on the nature and circumstances of their offence.

Number of operations involving armed response vehicles (ARVs)
	1997–98	1998–99	1999–2000	2000–01
Gwent	47	39	27	17
North Wales	260	298	354	155
South Wales	97	136	220	298
Total	7,544	7,791	8,276	8,179

¹These forces have changed the counting method for incidents to which ARVs are deployed.