§ Mr. SheermanTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many police community support officers are now in post(a) in the United Kingdom and (b) in West Yorkshire; [132340]
559W(2) how many police community support officers will be in post by 21 December. [132341]
§ Ms BlearsAs of 1 October 2003 there were 1,934 Community Support Officers (CSOs) in England and Wales. Of these 96 CSOs had been recruited by West Yorkshire Police. I have also been informed by West Yorkshire Police that currently Huddersfield have 10 CSOs and will have 18 by the end of March 2004.
We estimate there will be 2,200 Community Support Officers in post in England and Wales by 21 December 2003, rising to over 2,500 by 1 April 2004. We are on track to reach the National Policing Plan target of 4,000 CSOs by the end of 2005.