asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will make a statement on the latest trends in police recruitment.

Recruitment is improving and wastage is lower than in recent years. There has been a net gain in strength of 2,459 police officers in England and Wales in the first ten months of this year, compared with 1,986 for the whole of 1970.

I congratulate my right hon. Friend on those encouraging figures. Will he keep in mind that there is still leeway to make up, and will he continue to regard a stronger police force as the top priority in the fight against crime?

Yes, Sir, I accept that entirely. We are making progress, but we should like to see a lot more.

How many of these recruits are school-leavers who cannot find a job anywhere else because of high unemployment?

I cannot say without notice. Wastage is a much more serious problem than recruitment.