§ Mr. PaiceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) if he will list the UK police forces which have a dedicated traffic enforcement division, how many officers there were in the divisions; and what these figures were as a percentage of the force strength; [73427]
(2) if he will list the UK police forces which have disbanded their dedicated traffic divisions in the last 10 years; [73428]
(3) what the budget for traffic enforcement was in each police force for the last 10 years; and what each figure was expressed as a percentage of the force budget. [73429]
§ Mr. DenhamThe two tables give the information readily available. Table 1 sets out for each police force in England and Wales in 2001–02 the number of officers in traffic posts ("traffic police"). Traffic police are defined as "staff who are predominantly employed on 223W motorcycles or in patrol vehicles for the policing of traffic and motorway related duties". The definition does not include accident investigation, vehicle examination or radar duties. No records are kept centrally of which forces organise their traffic posts into dedicated traffic enforcement divisions or which forces have disbanded dedicated traffic enforcement divisions.
Table 2 sets out for each force in England and Wales the net cost of traffic and road safety for the past two years, showing each force's spend on these as a proportion of the force budget. The table shows that, over the two-year period, spend on traffic and road safety increased as a proportion of the force budget in a significant number of forces.
A thematic inspection report on road policing by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, published in 1998, identified an intelligence-led model for this activity, integrating traffic policing with other core activities and making more effective use of police resources. As forces increasingly adopt this approach, the number of dedicated traffic officers may reduce, but this does not necessarily reflect a lower level of enforcement. The increased use of cameras and other technology can allow a reduction in traffic officers whilst maintaining traffic targets/ enforcement levels. It also allows traffic officers to be appropriately targeted elsewhere. Reductions in the numbers of traffic officers, taken by themselves, can therefore be misleading.
Table 1: Numbers of traffic police in 2001–02 No of Traffic Police Total Strength Percentage of Force Strength Avon and Somerset 214 3,096 6.9 Bedfordshire 6.9 1,069 6.5 Cambridgeshire 78 1,362 5.7 Cheshire 194 2,059 9.4 224W
Table 2: Traffic and road safety net costs 2000–01 TO 2001–02 (only 2 years available) Net cost of traffic & road safety 2000–01 Spend as proportion of net budget requirement 2000–01 Net cost of traffic & road safety 2001–02 Spend as proportion of net budget requirement 2001–02 Avon & Somerset £18,620,000 10.25% £19,772,000 10.42% Bedfordshire £4,377,000 6.56% £4,646,000 6.57% Cambridgeshire £6,173,000 7.76% £8,054,000 9.57% Cheshire £5,535,000 4.81% £5,420,000 4.45% City Of London £2,364,000 4.08% £2,483,000 4.16% Cleveland £3,949,000 4.46% £4,073,000 4.49% Cumbria £6,159,000 9.14% £4,590,000 6.50% Derbyshire £12,632,000 11.37% £12,581,000 10.76% Devon & Cornwall N/A N/A N/A N/A Dorset £4,330,000 5.34% £4,415,000 5.22% Durham £4,946,000 5.89% £5.503,000 6.28% Dyfed-Powys £2,176,000 3.69% £3,147,000 5.00% Essex £8,479,000 4.63% £9,312,000 4.78% Gloucestershire £4,595,000 6.70% £4,592,000 6.36% Greater Manchester £8,545,000 2.17% £23,590,000 5.74% Gwent £4,637,000 6.09% £4,717,000 5.85% Hampshire £20,241,000 9.89% £21,443,000 9.92% Hertfordshire £12,424,000 10.02% £10,679,000 8.25% Humberside £8,170,000 6.87% £10,700,000 8.35% Kent £5,701,000 2.95% £5,638,000 2.73% Lancashire £16,518,000 8.69% £17,388,000 8.73% Leicestershire £5,420,000 4.92% N/A N/A Lincolnshire £4,200,000 5.79% N/A N/A Merseyside £13,772,000 5.43% £16,317,000 6.16% Metropolitan Police N/A N/A N/A N/A 225W
Table 1: Numbers of traffic police in 2001–02 No of Traffic Police Total Strength Percentage of Force Strength City of London 25 764 3.3 Cleveland 67 1,461 4.6 Cumbria 108 1,100 9.8 Derbyshire 140 1,848 7.6 Devon and Cornwall 187 3,053 6.1 Dorset 81 1,381 5.9 Durham 113 1,614 7.0 Dyfed-Powys 75 1,132 6.6 Essex 254 2,946 8.6 Gloucestershire 64 1,183 5.4 Greater Manchester 421 7,217 5.8 Gwent 87 1,333 6.5 Hampshire 240 3,480 6.9 Hertfordshire 149 1,825 8.2 Humberside 136 2,058 6.6 Kent 104 3,355 3.1 Lancashire 220 3,304 6.7 Leicestershire 86 2,100 4.1 Lincolnshire 98 1,198 8.2 Merseyside 126 4,125 3.1 Metropolitan Police 602 26,223 2.3 Norfolk 114 1,468 7.8 Northamptonshire 61 1,214 5.0 Northumbria 178 3,929 4.5 North Wales 152 1,506 10.1 North Yorkshire 140 1,417 9.9 Nottinghamshire 111 2,330 4.8 South Wales 244 3,222 7.6 South Yorkshire 208 3,199 6.5 Staffordshire 34 2,133 1.6 Suffolk 68 1,203 5.7 Surrey 110 1,992 5.5 Sussex 174 2,893 6.0 Thames Valley 247 3,762 6.6 Warwickshire 95 969 9.8 West Mercia 325 2,018 16.1 West Midlands 385 7,681 5.0 West Yorkshire 336 4,889 6.9 Wiltshire 88 1,157 7.6
Table 2: Traffic and road safety net costs 2000–01 TO 2001–02 (only 2 years available) Net cost of traffic & road safety 2000–01 Spend as proportion of net budget requirement 2000–01 Net cost of traffic & road safety 2001–02 Spend as proportion of net budget requirement 2001–02 Norfolk N/A N/A £6,081,000 6.18% North Wales Police £8,583,000 10.22% £6,427,000 7.18% North Yorkshire £5,797,000 7.03% £5,896,000 6.87% Northamptonshire £3,534,000 4.79% £4,040,000 5.16% Northumbria N/A N/A N/A N/A Nottinghamshire £2,227,000 1.66% £7,431,000 5.30% South Wales £11,425,000 6.38% £13,697,000 7.25% South Yorkshire N/A N/A N/A N/A Staffordshire £8.755,000 6.89% N/A N/A Suffolk £4,005,000 5.46% £4,094,000 5.27% Surrey £11,531,000 9.12% £10,702,000 8.74% Sussex £9.522,000 5.46% £9,247,000 5.03% Thames Valley £18.819,000 7.90% £18,981,000 7.53% Warwickshire £5,221,000 8.84% £5,502,000 8.82% West Mercia £13,910,000 11.07% £15,861,000 11.91% West Midlands £15,886,000 4.02% £21,722,000 5.29% West Yorkshire £17.936,000 5.95% N/A N/A Wiltshire £4,769,000 6.63% £4,930,000 6.52% All England And Wales 391,251,000 5.03% £461,601,000 5.65% Source:
Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy Police statistics 2000–01 Actuals and 2001–02 Estimates. Total cost is not available separately for five forces, but overall figure reflects sum for all forces.
Traffic and road safety includes traffic units; vehicle based armed response units; motorway patrol units; accident investigation units; road safety officers and speed management units.