§ Mr. FlookTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there are per head of population in each of the basic command units that make up the Avon and Somerset constabulary area. [123583]
§ Ms BlearsThe information in the table is based on police strength in the Basic Command Units at 31 March 2002, as set out in the reply of 2 December 2002,Official Report, column 589W, by my right hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr. Denham) to the hon. Member for Southwark, North and Bermondsey (Simon Hughes).
Avon and Somerset Constabulary Basic Command Unit Police officers per 100,000 population1 Bath and North East Somerset 134.5 Central Bristol 348.9 North Bristol 184.4 North Somerset 107.4 Somerset East 99.9 Somerset West 121.1 South Bristol 188.8 South Gloucester 107.6 1 Population figures are from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and are the latest available for mid-year 2001
§ Dr. VisTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in the London borough of Barnet in 1997; and how many there are now. [123891]
§ Ms BlearsInformation has not been collected on a regular basis about the number of officers deployed to Basic Command Units within force areas. The deployment of resources between the London boroughs and other specialist operational and support units of the Metropolitan Police Service is an operational matter for the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis (Sir John Stevens QPM).
I would however refer my hon. Friend to the reply of 2 December 2002, Official Report, column 589W, by my right hon. Friend the Member for Southampton, Itchen (Mr. Denham) to the hon. Member for Southwark, 725W North and Bermondsey (Simon Hughes), setting out police strength for each Basic Command Unit for each force in England and Wales as at 31 March 2002.
Current London borough division boundaries were introduced in 2000 following changes to Metropolitan Police District boundaries with Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey on 1 April 2000. Barnet Division did not exist in its current form in 1997 and was affected by the boundary changes with Hertfordshire in 2000. Realistic comparisons of borough strength cannot therefore be made.
§ Mark TamiTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what changes his Department has made to police disciplinary procedures in the last five years; and what representations he has received from chief constables on reforming police disciplinary procedures. [122881]
§ Ms BlearsThe current misconduct regulations were introduced on 1 April 1999. These are the Police (Conduct) Regulations 1999 and the Police (Conduct) (Senior Officers) Regulations 1999, which replaced the existing Police (Discipline) Regulations 1985 and the Police (Discipline) (Senior Officers) Regulations 1985. The new Regulations represent a change in emphasis from a discipline code of specific offences to a code of conduct against which an officer's behaviour can be assessed to see whether or not it matches up to the standards expected of a police officer.
Regulations and Guidance on police misconduct procedures are kept under review by the Police Personnel Procedures (PPP) Working Group, which was set up by, and is a sub-group of, the Police Advisory Board for England and Wales. All police interests are represented on the PPP Working Group, which includes a member of the Association of Chief Police Officers. Since the current misconduct regulations were introduced in April 1999 the following amendments have been made:
The Greater London Authority Act 1999 (Consequential Amendments) (Police) Order 2000 (SI 2000/1549) removed references to the Assistant Commissioner from the Police (Conduct) Regulations 1999 and amended the Police (Conduct) (Senior Officers) Regulations 1999 consequential on the fact that the Home Secretary ceased to be the police authority for the Metropolitan Police.The Criminal Justice and Police Act 2001 (Consequential Amendments) (Police Ranks) Regulations 2001 (SI 2001/3888) inserted in the Police (Conduct) Regulations 1999 various references to chief superintendents, consequential on section 125 of the 2001 Act, and inserted in the Police (Conduct) (Senior Officers) Regulations 1999 a reference to a deputy chief constable, consequential on section 123 of the 2001 Act. Regulation 5(4) amended regulation 18(3) of the Police (Conduct) Regulations 1999 to provide that at a disciplinary hearing, the two officers who assist the presiding officer need not come from the same force as the officer concerned.
§ Mr. RosindellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there are per head of population on the Isle of Man; and what the equivalent figures are for(a) England and (b) Wales. [123390]
726W
§ Ms BlearsThe information requested is set out in the table.
Police officers per 100,000 population Isle of Man Constabulary1 England2 Wales2 Police Officers 322.3 240.2 244.2 Civilian Support Staff 65.5 109.8 105.5 Total Police Service Personnel 387.9 350.0 349.7 1 Information provided by the Isle of Man Constabulary via the Department for Constitutional Affairs. 2 England and Wales figures, based on police strength at 31 March 2002 and Office for National Statistics (ONS) mid-year 2001 population figures. Police strength for England and Wales excludes police officers seconded to National Crime Squad (NCS), National Criminal Intelligence Service (NCIS) and central services such as Centrex.