§ Mr. Ivan HendersonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes there have been in police officers numbers in the Tendring Division in Essex since 1997. [107690]
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthInformation has not been collected on a regular basis about the number of officers deployed to Basic Command Units within force areas. I would, however, refer my hon. Friend to the reply given by my right hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr. Denham) on 2 December 2002 to the hon. Member for Southwark, North and Bermondsey (Simon Hughes),Official Report column 589W, setting out police strength for each Basic Command Unit for each force in England and Wales as at 31 March 2002.
For Essex Police as a whole, between March 1997 and September 2002 police strength increased from 2,961 to 2,988, a record strength for the force. Between March 1997 and March 2002 (the latest available figures), the force's civilian support staff strength rose from 1,199 to 1,571.
The deployment of resources between the 10 territorial divisions and other specialist operational and support units of the Essex Police is an operational matter for the Chief Constable (Mr. David Stevens QPM).