§ Mr. GibbTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department pursuant to his Answer of 24 February, ref 97598, what the role of his Department is in determining policy and guidelines relating to the deployment of police forces. [100063]
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthUnder the Police Act 1996, a police force is under the control and direction of its chief officer. Operational decisions, including the deployment of officers, are a matter for the chief officer of police.
The Police Reform Act 2002 provides for the publication of an annual National Policing Plan which sets out the Home Secretary's strategic priorities for the police service and the targets and indicators by which police performance will be measured. Chief officers and police authorities are then required to have regard to the National Policing Plan when preparing their own three-year strategic plan.
From time to time the Home Secretary may also issue regulations requiring all forces to adopt particular procedures and practices in the interests of promoting efficiency and effectiveness. The Home Secretary may for the same reasons issue codes of practice on any function of chief officers and to which a chief officer shall have regard. The Home Secretary may issue guidance to the 971W police on specific aspects of policing. Codes of practice are drafted by Centrex (the Central Police Training and Development Authority) after consultation with the Association of Chief Police Officers and the Association of Police Authorities. The Home Secretary shall also seek the advice of Centrex (who will again consult) in drafting regulations.
The Home Secretary may also direct that an action plan be drawn up where inadequate performance is identified by Her Majesty's Inspector of Constabulary in a force or part of a force.
The National Centre for Policing Excellence (NCPE) has been established within Centrex specifically to advance the professional capacity of the police. It will develop and disseminate knowledge to improve effective policing practice and will focus on priority issues affecting public confidence and risk, including those required by the Home Secretary for incorporation into regulations and codes of practice.
§ Adam PriceTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how much his Department has withdrawn from the National Assembly for Wales police provision to fund centrally managed initiatives. [102762]
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthA number of specific grants and central initiatives are financed from the overall provisions for police grant and for revenue support grant from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and from the Welsh Assembly Government. The share contributed by the National Assembly for 2003–04 is £21.26 million. It is based on the Welsh police authorities' share of Total Assumed Spending for police authorities in England and Wales.
Welsh police authorities will receive £355 million in general grant in 2003–04, an increase of 3.6 per cent. over the provision for 2002–03. In addition, they are expected to receive in specific grants sums at least equivalent to the National Assembly contribution.
§ Chris RuaneTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many community support officers have been recruited by each police authority in England and Wales, in the last year for which figures are available. [103394]
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthPolice forces were first invited to bid for funds for Community Support Officers (CSOs) on 31 July 2002. 27 forces made successful bids. The table sets out the numbers of CSOs recruited up to 17 March in 26 of these forces. Avon and Somerset have not, as yet, employed any CSOs although they hope to have 12 in place shortly.
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Numbers recruited by 17 March 2003 Metropolitan 422 Metropolitan (funded by Transport for London) 83 Greater Manchester 160 Lancashire 72 Merseyside 41 (two part-timers) Cleveland 40 West Yorkshire 36 Surrey 36 Lincolnshire 32 Gwent 30 Leicestershire 28 Sussex 22 Devon and Cornwall 20
Numbers recruited by 17 March 2003 Wiltshire 14 Hertfordshire 14 South Yorkshire 12 Norfolk 12 Northamptonshire 12 Warwickshire 11 Durham 10 Essex 10 Nottinghamshire 10 West Mercia 10 Dorset 7 Kent 9 Cambridgeshire 6 Cheshire 6 Total 1,165 We are on course to meet our target of 1,200 CSOs recruited by the end of March. A new round of bidding has commenced and we hope to announce allocations in May 2003.
§ Bob RussellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he will encourage rail operating companies to extend the free travel on trains available to regular police officers to members of the Special Constabulary. [99643]
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthThe Special Constabulary has a vital role to play in reducing crime and providing reassurance to the public. We welcome any contribution that the rail operating companies, and the wider business community, can make to support the work of the Special Constabulary.
§ Bob RussellTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what plans he has(a) to alter and (b) to withdraw the subsistence allowance for special constables; [99648]
(2) what the rates of payments made to special constables are for (a) boot allowance and (b) subsistence allowance; when these figures were introduced; and what plans he has to increase them. [99649]
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthRevised allowances for special constables were set out in Home Office Circular No. 64/89, payable with effect from 11 September 1989.
The Circular set the boot allowance at an annual rate of £30, payable in arrears. A refreshment allowance for a special constable incurring expenditure to obtain a meal was set at the same rate as that approved for payment to regular constables under Regulation 58 of the Police Regulations 1987, as amended.
We are currently reviewing Home Office Circular No. 64/89.
§ Mr. Don FosterTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what percentage of police resources is allocated to traffic policing(a) in the UK and (b) broken down by region; [102860]
(2) how many dedicated traffic police officers there have been in each year since 1991, broken down by region and nation; and what percentage of the total number of police officers these figures represent, broken down by region and nation; [102861]
973W(3) what recent discussions he has had with the Association of Chief Police Officers regarding the number of dedicated traffic police officers; and if he will make a statement. [102859]
§ Mr. Bob AinsworthThe following tables give the readily available information in respect of England and Wales. This covers the three years since 1999, in which year the definition of 'traffic officer' used by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary changed. The definition is now
staff who are predominantly employed on motor-cycles or in patrol vehicles for the policing of traffic and motorway related duties".This definition excludes those engaged in accident investigation, vehicle examination or radar duties. Policing in Scotland and Northern Ireland is the responsibility of the Scottish Executive and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland respectively.
The importance given to traffic policing should not be measured solely by the number of dedicated traffic officers, and does not depend on increases or decreases in the number of such officers. The adoption of an intelligence-led approach to traffic policing, its integration with other core activities, the increased use of cameras and other technology, and the more effective use of police resources can lead to a reduction in dedicated traffic officers without a reduction in traffic-related targets or enforcement levels.
The importance of roads policing is recognised in the National Policing Plan. This sets out that forces and local authorities should include in their local policing plans targeted and intelligence-led strategies for reducing deaths and injuries on the roads and achieving a safe environment for all road users.
Officials are in regular contact with the head of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Road Policing Business Area and his colleagues.
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Traffic police officers Region and nation 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 Cleveland 68 63 67 Durham 116 113 113 Northumbria 158 158 178 North East Region Total 342 334 358 Cheshire 196 187 194 Cumbria 119 111 108 Greater Manchester 433 423 421 Lancashire 220 217 220 Merseyside 185 130 126 North West Region Total 1,153 1,068 1,069 Humberside 155 145 136 North Yorkshire 96 129 140 South Yorkshire 196 206 208 West Yorkshire 323 326 336 Yorkshire and Humberside Total 770 806 820 Derbyshire 139 136 140 Leicestershire 87 95 86 Lincolnshire 93 88 98 Northamptonshire 52 52 61 Nottinghamshire 167 175 111 East Midland Region Total 538 546 496 Staffordshire 188 35 34 Warwickshire 102 96 95 West Mercia 278 322 325 West Midlands 394 380 385 West Midlands Region Total 962 833 839 Bedfordshire 73 69 69 Cambridgeshire 93 86 78 Essex 245 249 254
Traffic police officers Region and nation 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 Hertfordshire 155 168 149 Norfolk 109 113 114 Suffolk 70 63 68 East of England Region Total 745 748 732 City of London 22 24 25 Metropolitan Police 824 686 602 London Region Total 846 710 627 Hampshire 251 240 240 Kent 103 104 104 Surrey 173 197 110 Thames valley 251 251 247 South East Region Total 778 792 701 Avon and Somerset 200 211 214 Devon and Cornwall 215 202 187 Dorset 83 86 81 Gloucestershire 68 69 64 Wiltshire 93 91 88 South West Region Total 659 659 634 England Total 6,793 6,496 6,276 Dyfed-Powys 93 83 75 Gwent 90 89 87 North Wales 134 146 152 South Wales 224 238 244 Wales 541 556 558 Wales Total 541 556 558 975W
Percentage of total police Region and nation 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 Cleveland 4.78 4.424157 4.5859 Durham 7.445443 7.084639 6.992574 Northumbria 4.171067 4.096448 4.530415 North East Region Total 5.053938 4.857475 5.109906 Cheshire 9J46395 9.298856 9.42205 Cumbria 10.97786 10.5916 9.818182 Greater Manchester 6.372333 6.121563 5.833449 Lancashire 6.830177 6.666667 6.658596 Merseyside 4.528764 3.185494 3.054545 North West Region Total 6.705048 6.171627 6.003931 Humberside 8.022774 7.58765 6.634146 North Yorkshire 7.476636 9.832317 9.957326 South Yorkshire 6.216302 6.488189 6.502032 West Yorkshire 6.697077 6.770509 6.872571 Yorkshire and Humberside Total 28.41279 7.188085 7.103257 Derbyshire 7.822172 7.46023 7.575758 Leicestershire 4.365278 4.672897 4.176785 Lincolnshire 8.340807 8.340807 8.180301 Northamptonshire 4.651163 4.486626 5.024712 Nottinghamshire 7.508993 7.688928 4.763948 East Midland Region Total 6.539443 6.428824 5.734767 Staffordshire 8.663594 1.650943 1.593999 Warwickshire 11.33333 10.37838 9.803922 West Mercia 14.70899 16.50436 16.50505 West Midlands 5.460845 5.121294 5.069792 West Midlands Region Total 7.901437 6.709085 6.599025 Bedfordshire 7.101167 6.673114 6.472795 Cambridgeshire 7.512116 6.635802 5.726872 Essex 8.73129 8.604008 8.630649 Hertfordshire 8.77193 8.740895 8.142077 Norfolk 7.892831 7.963354 7.765668 Suffolk 6.108202 5.560459 5.652535 East of England Region Total 7.954303 7.576985 7.414911 City of London 2.98913 3.41394 3.27654 Metropolitan Police 3.236195 2.751153 2.298499 London Region Total 3.229254 2.769327 2.326185 Hampshire 7.341328 6.9869 6.896552 Kent 3.214732 3.134418 3.099851 Surrey 9.691877 9.535334 5.522088 Thames valley 6.709436 6.772801 6.565657 South East Region Total 6.403819 6.323353 5.568353 Avon and Somerset 6.816633 7.047428 6.912145 Devon and Cornwall 7.567758 6.884799 6.125123 Dorset 6.355283 6.304985 5.865315 Gloucestershire 6.104129 5.897436 5.419136 Wiltshire 8.318426 8.125 7.605877 South West Region Total 7.07613 6.877479 6.424807 England Total 79.27616 54.90224 52.28514
Percentage of total police Region and nation 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 Dyfed-Powys 8.899522 7.852412 6.619594 Gwent 7.120253 6.985871 6.526632 North Wales 9.689082 10.1108 10.11984 South Wales 7.562458 7.657658 7.67537 Wales 8.130448 8.077873 7.807472 Wales Total 8.130448 8.077873 7.807472
Number of police officers Region and nation 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 Cleveland 1,421 1,424 1,461 Durham 1,558 1,595 1,616 Northumbria 3,788 3,857 3,929 North East Region Total 6,767 6,876 7,006 Cheshire 2,011 2,011 2,059 Cumbria 1,084 1,048 1,100 Greater Manchester 6,795 6,910 7,217 Lancashire 3,221 3,255 3,304 Merseyside 4,085 4,081 4,125 North West Region Total 17,196 17,305 17,805 Humberside 1,932 1,911 2,050 North Yorkshire 1,284 1,312 1,406 South Yorkshire 3,153 3,175 3,199 West Yorkshire 4,823 4,815 4,889 Yorkshire and Humberside Total 11,192 11,213 11,544 Derbyshire 1,777 1,823 1,848 Leicestershire 1,993 2,033 2,059 Lincolnshire 1,115 1,202 1,198 Northamptonshire 1,118 1,159 1,214 Nottinghamshire 2,224 2,276 2,330 East Midland Region Total 8,227 8,493 8,649 Staffordshire 2,170 2,120 2,133 Warwickshire 900 925 969 West Mercia 1,890 1,951 2,018 West Midlands 7,215 7,420 7,594 West Midlands Region Total 12,175 12,416 12,714 Bedfordshire 1,028 1,034 1,066 Cambridgeshire 1,238 1,296 1,362 Essex 2,806 2,894 2,943 Hertfordshire 1,767 1,922 1,830 Norfolk 1,381 1,419 1,468 Suffolk 1,146 1,133 1,203 East of England Region Total 9,366 9,698 9,872 City of London 736 703 763 Metropolitan Police 25,462 24,935 26,191 London Region Total 26,198 25,638 26,954 Hampshire 3,419 3,435 3,480 Kent 3,204 3,318 3,355 Surrey 1,785 2,066 1,992 Thames valley 3,741 3,706 3,762 South East Region Total 12,149 12,525 12,589 Avon and Somerset 2,934 2,994 3,096 Devon and Cornwall 2,841 2,934 3,053 Dorset 1,306 1,364 1,381 Gloucestershire 1,114 1,170 1,181 Wiltshire 1,118 1,120 1,157 South West Region Total 9,313 9,582 9,868 England Total 112,583 113,746 117,001 Dyfed-Powys 1,045 1,057 1,133 Gwent 1,264 1,274 1,333 North Wales 1,383 1,444 1,502 South Wales 2,962 3,108 3,179 Wales 6,654 6,883 7,147 Wales Total 6,654 6,883 7,147