§ Mr. CousinsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many(a) uniformed officers and (b) civilian staff there were in each police authority area in the North East region (i) in 1996 and (ii) on the most recent date for which figures are available; and if he will express this figure as a ratio per head of population. [100566]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 4 March 2003]: The information requested is set out in the table.
Force Police officer numbers Police officers per 100,000 population Civilians Civilians per 100,000 population 31 March 19961 Durham 1,401 230.4 526.5 86.6 Cleveland 1,420.3 253.6 553.3 98.8 Northumbria 3,668.3 254.4 1,399.3 97.0 North east region 6,489.6 248.6 2,479 95.0 31 March 20022 Durham 1,614 266.0 660 108.8 Cleveland 1,461 262.5 626 112.4 Northumbria 3,929 277.8 1,403 99.2 North east region 7,004 271.8 2,689 104.3 1 Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary, Annual Report 1995–96 2 Home Office Research and Statistics Directorate
§ Mr. LidingtonTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many net transfers there were in each police force in(a) 1998–99, (b) 1999–2000, (c) 2000–01 and (d) 2001–02; [100739]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of (a) transfers in, (b) transfers out and (c) net transfers for (i) 2002–03 to date and (ii) the full year 2002–03 for each police force. [100740]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 4 March 2003]: The information in the table has been provided by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary. Statistics for 2002–03 are not yet available but will be collected by the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate after 31March 2003 and published in due course.
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1998–99 1999–2000 Police transfers Transfers from force Transfers to force Net transfers Transfers from force Transfers to force Net transfers City of London 13 3 -10 13 0 -13 Cleveland 6 0 -6 1 9 8 Cumbria 4 11 7 6 4 -2 Derbyshire 0 15 15 6 10 4 Devon and Cornwall 8 3 -5 8 19 11 Dorset 0 4 4 3 54 51 Durham 3 15 12 3 6 3 Dyfed-Powys 2 17 15 5 15 10 Essex 6 9 3 10 23 13 Gloucestershire 1 3 2 3 13 10 Greater Manchester 13 19 6 15 25 10 Gwent 3 8 5 3 23 20 Hampshire 12 11 -1 20 31 11 Hertfordshire 23 11 -12 23 25 2 Humberside 5 10 5 5 15 10 Kent 11 5 -6 12 18 6 Lancashire 10 0 -10 7 7 0 Leicestershire 6 13 7 13 8 -5 Lincolnshire 1 5 4 5 14 9 Merseyside 16 15 -1 10 9 -1 Metropolitan Police 234 23 -211 244 36 -208 Norfolk 5 9 4 2 13 11 North Wales 5 4 -1 5 14 9 North Yorkshire 5 0 -5 5 10 5 Northamptonshire 3 8 5 2 3 1 Northumbria 7 36 29 9 7 -2 Nottinghamshire 13 0 -13 10 9 -1 South Wales 6 16 10 11 7 -4 South Yorkshire 10 18 8 8 22 14 Staffordshire 5 14 9 2 2 0 Suffolk 5 9 4 5 2 -3 Surrey 11 22 11 18 43 25 Sussex 13 16 3 21 21 0 Thames Valley 10 4 -6 26 1 -25 Warwickshire 7 17 10 2 3 1 West Mercia 5 16 11 6 2 -4 West Midlands 47 23 -24 42 26 -16 West Yorkshire 11 6 -5 15 0 -15 Wiltshire 1 10 9 7 13 6 1084W1085W
2000–01 2001–02 Transfers from force Transfers to force Net transfers Transfers from force Transfers to force Net transfers Avon and Somerset 25 48 23 19 44 25 Bedfordshire 21 9 -12 51 6 -45 Cambridgeshire 12 15 3 26 27 1 Cheshire 6 8 2 18 8 -10 City of London 18 2 -16 11 42 31 Cleveland 4 0 -4 4 17 13 Cumbria 10 9 -1 18 29 11 Derbyshire 5 3 -2 6 18 12 Devon and Cornwall 7 62 55 13 87 74 Dorset 9 36 27 20 36 16 Durham 5 14 9 10 10 0 Dyfed-Powys 9 13 4 4 23 19 Essex 25 50 25 56 50 -6 Gloucestershire 6 14 8 20 18 -2 Greater Manchester 28 48 20 39 64 25 Gwent 5 13 8 8 15 7 Hampshire 24 41 17 61 54 -7 Hertfordshire 43 31 -12 59 54 -5 Humberside 18 10 -8 12 24 12 Kent 26 30 4 28 24 -4 Lancashire 7 13 6 36 28 -8 Leicestershire 27 34 7 37 13 -24 Lincolnshire 6 32 26 6 8 2 Merseyside 14 18 4 8 17 9 Metropolitan Police 382 79 -303 436 196 -240 Norfolk 6 28 22 9 33 24
2000–01 2001–02 Transfers from force Transfers to force Net transfers Transfers from force Transfers to force Net transfers North Wales 2 19 17 0 32 32 North Yorkshire 5 36 31 4 80 76 Northamptonshire 10 16 6 13 29 16 Northumbria 5 9 4 26 29 3 Nottinghamshire 6 33 27 14 42 28 South Wales 3 60 57 6 12 6 South Yorkshire 4 21 17 12 26 14 Staffordshire 9 2 -7 22 35 13 Suffolk 11 8 -3 3 21 18 Surrey 171 303 132 246 55 -191 Sussex 31 23 -8 34 29 -5 Thames Valley 80 9 -71 72 13 -59 Warwickshire 8 2 -6 17 27 10 West Mercia 6 18 12 10 65 55 West Midlands 59 22 -37 132 41 -91 West Yorkshire 19 21 2 47 22 -25 Wiltshire 12 15 3 10 22 12
§ Bob RussellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many police officers transferred from Essex Police to(a) the Metropolitan Police and (b) the City of London Police in the last 12 months for which figures are available; [99640]
(2) how many police officers have transferred to the Essex Police from (a) the Metropolitan Police and (b) the City of London Police in the last 12 months for which figures are available. [99641]
§ Mr. DenhamHer Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary collects information annually about the total number of officers transferring in and out of each force. The information collected does not distinguish the force of origin or destination of officers who have transferred. The latest information is for 2001–02 and the table shows the total numbers of officers transferring in and out of the Essex, City of London and Metropolitan police forces.
Force Transfers out Transfers in City of London 11 42 Essex 56 50 Metropolitan 436 196 Essex Police, in common with a number of other forces in and around London, is concerned about issues relating to the retention of police officers, including a net outflow of officers on transfer.
We are therefore working with Chief Constables, Police Authorities and staff associations in and around London, including Essex, to look at all the associated issues and to develop practical solutions.
§ Mr. Andrew MitchellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether the basic command unit fund is exempt from the requirement to save 5 per cent. overtime costs set out in the Police Reform Act 2002. [99667]
§ Mr. DenhamThe Basic Command Unit (BCD) Fund, allocated £50 million in each of the three years from 2003–04, is provided to help the frontline deliver crime and disorder reduction locally and promote partnership working. The funding may be spent on a1086W range of crime and disorder work and on building the capacity of Partnerships to deliver, as part of a coherent local strategy.
Where the BCU fund is used for police operations, it may be necessary for officers to be deployed outside their normal duty hours. Where that is necessary, it will need to be planned in accordance with the Agreement reached in the Police Negotiating Board (PNB) on managing overtime. That Agreement is about giving police officers a better work/life balance. It is not about cutting costs or reducing the availability of officers for operational duties, including, when the need arises, beyond their rostered hours.
Under the PNB Agreement, forces will have local targets for reducing their overtime bill, agreed between the chief constable and the police authority, with the approval of the Inspectorate. In monitoring forces' performance against their targets, the Inspectorate is expressly required, under the PNB Agreement, to take account of force strength, unforeseen major incidents and new requirements. So, the Inspectorate will ensure that any new spending on overtime to deliver reductions in crime—such as from the BCD fund—is taken into account when assessing forces' performance against their overtime targets.
§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were per notifiable offence in England in each year from 1977–78 to 2002–03 (estimated); and if he will make a statement. [99812]
§ Mr. DenhamThe requested information is shown in the table.
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Number of officers per 1,000 notifiable offences in England 1977 41 1978 41 1979 43 1980 42 1981 39 1982 36 1983 37 1984 34 1985 33
Number of officers per 1,000 notifiable offences in England 1986 31 1987 31 1988 33 1989 32 1990 27 1991 24 1992 22 1993 23 1994 24 1995 24 1996 25 1997 27 1997–981 27 1998–992 24 1999–2000 23 2000–01 24 2001–02 23 1 Recorded crime data expressed on a financial year basis from this point onwards 2 Revised rules for recording crime were introduced on 1 April 1998. The ratios before and after this date are therefore not directly comparable.
§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the resident population of each English police authority was in the latest year for which figures are available. [99881]
§ Mr. Denham[holding answer 27 February 2003]: The latest available total resident population, as at 30 June 2001, as estimated by the Registrar General, is given in the table.
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Police authority Population Avon and Somerset 1,483,450 Bedfordshire 566,415 Cambridgeshire 710,032 Cheshire 983,670 City of London 7,216 Cleveland 541,262 Cumbria 487,792 Derbyshire 956,560 Devon and Cornwall 1,578,595 Dorset 693,460 Durham 591,551 Essex 1,616,246 Gloucester 565,000 Greater Manchester 2,482,824 Hampshire 1,778,181 Hertfordshire 1,034,895 Humberside 869,099 Kent 1,580,870 Lancashire 1,415,596 Leicestershire 924,661 Lincolnshire 647,649 Merseyside 1,361,658 Metropolitan Police 7,180,790 Norfolk 797,906 North Yorkshire 751,414 Northamptonshire 630,444 Northumbria 1,383,718 Nottinghamshire 1,015,767 South Yorkshire 1,266,487 Staffordshire 1,047,575 Suffolk 669,366 Surrey 1,059,469 Sussex 1,495,453 Thames Valley 2,092,923 Warwickshire 506,200 West Mercia 1,158,958
Police authority Population West Midlands 2,554,365 West Yorkshire 2,080,165 Wiltshire 613,657 Total 49,181,339
§ Mr. LawsTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the cost was of telephone call-handling facilities for the public at each English police authority in the last year for which figures are available; and if he will make a statement. [99904]
§ Mr. DenhamInformation on the costs of telephone services to police authorities in England are not held centrally and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost. Police forces in England have developed telephone call-handling facilities to deal with calls from the public. Again, information relating to the costs of providing such facilities are not held centrally and could not be collected except at disproportionate cost.