§ Bob RussellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the strength was of the special constabulary for each of the 43 police authorities in each of the last five years for which figures are available. [52058]
§ Mr. DenhamThe number of serving special constables in each police force area from September 1997 to September 2001 are set out in the table.
133W
September Police force 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Avon and Somerset 629 584 482 416 391 Bedfordshire 186 175 148 134 119 Cambridgeshire 336 308 293 214 197 Cheshire 491 416 358 307 233 Cleveland 157 136 108 122 98 Cumbria 184 210 193 167 125 Derbyshire 414 355 303 286 263 Devon and Cornwall 1,079 916 908 836 780 Dorset 325 303 287 278 258 Durham 178 159 169 155 146 Essex 641 590 528 478 413 Gloucestershire 287 245 221 197 153 Greater Manchester 657 567 498 408 355 Hampshire 681 747 720 500 400 Hertfordshire 306 267 232 214 177 Humberside 348 289 263 198 207 Kent 588 565 484 416 366 Lancashire 500 465 397 362 325 Leicestershire 402 350 303 202 155 Lincolnshire 273 233 218 179 160
September Police force 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 London city of 84 69 66 46 34 Merseyside 407 463 467 452 507 Metropolitan police 1,528 1,214 1,173 754 753 Norfolk 346 351 317 270 240 Northamptonshire 314 262 210 195 184 Northumbria 480 352 356 323 276 North Yorkshire 337 302 245 189 186 Nottinghamshire 597 530 405 411 281 South Yorkshire 295 266 236 193 189 Staffordshire 643 558 460 461 395 Suffolk 300 402 420 376 322 Surrey 231 226 205 168 176 Sussex 465 415 377 317 301 Thames valley 694 587 514 463 377 Warwickshire 379 323 260 260 208 West Mercia 558 499 512 443 364 West Midlands 949 784 697 662 604 West Yorkshire 604 590 572 452 371 Wiltshire 150 176 182 172 160 Dyfed Powys 241 237 237 193 174 Gwent 149 114 110 131 148 North Wales 388 336 262 233 203 south Wales 362 360 331 254 250 Note:
Figures provided by Research, Development and Statistics.
The proposals in the White Paper "Policing a New Century: A Blueprint for Reform" set out a radical and ambitious programme of reform, with the overall aim of reducing crime and the fear of crime and tackling antisocial behaviour. The special constabulary has a key role to play in the fight against crime and the fear of crime. The Government are accordingly introducing a wide range of measures to improve the recruitment and retention of specials. These include improvements to the recruitment, training, conditions, management and deployment of specials—focusing their role on intelligence-led, high visibility patrolling and local crime reduction initiatives.