§ Tony BaldryTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what his Department's targets are for the police officers per thousand ratio; what the Thames Valley Police Force's target ratio is; and to what extent his Department expects any imbalance will be addressed by the time of the 2004–05 grant allocation to Thames Valley. [136021]
§ Ms BlearsThames Valley Police had record police strength of 3,965 on 31 August, which is 270 more than in March 1997. In addition the force had 2,412 police (support) staff, which is 587 more than in March 1997.
No target for ratio of police officers to 1,000 population is set. Decisions on the balance between police officers and police (support) staff is a matter for the Chief Officers of Police and will have an impact on the ratio of police officers to population in forces.