HC Deb 24 July 2002 vol 389 cc1486-7W
Mr. Andrew Turner

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in which(a) divisions (i) of the Metropolitan Police and (ii) elsewhere and (b) constabularies outside the Metropolitan Police numbers are lower than in 1997. [52337]

Mr. John Denham

[holding answer 25 April 2002]: Information on police numbers within the territorial divisions of the Metropolitan Police and other police forces is not collected. On 31 January 2002 12 forces had fewer police officers than in March 1997. They are:

Force Strength as at 31 January 2002 Decrease since March 1997
Bedfordshire 1,077 -17
Cleveland 1,437 -22
City of London 740 -119
Cumbria 1,117 -27
Lincolnshire 1,190 -6
Merseyside 4,113 -117
Metropolitan Police1 25,878 -799
Nottinghamshire 2,313 -10
Staffordshire 2,109 -102
Sussex 2,878 -207
West Mercia 2,012 -28
West Yorkshire 4,899 -310
1Comparisons between 31 March 1997 and 31 January 2002 in the Metropolitan Police are affected by boundary changes with Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey in April 2000 when resources were transferred from the Metropolitan Police. Where police numbers are used in the police funding formula a reduction of 887 officers was applied.
2These figures have not yet been validated and published by the Home Office.

In March 2001 more than half of all the forces (24) had fewer officers than in March 1997. The Crime Fighting Fund has been a major contributory factor in improving the position.

Today there is a recorded number of police officers in England and Wales and we are on target to have more than 130,000 by April 2003.