(2) what estimate he has made of the potential start-up costs of (a) a Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire combined police force, (b) a Hampshire and Thames Valley combined police force, (c) a Hampshire, Sussex and Surrey combined police force and (d) one stand-alone Hampshire force;
(3) what representations he has received from the Hampshire police force on the proposed merger of police forces in the area;
(4) whether additional funding will be available from his Department to the Hampshire constabulary in the event of its merger with other forces;
(5) what estimate his Department has made of the likely change in the Hampshire police precept to the council tax which would arise from a merger of the Hampshire constabulary;
(6) what assessment he has made of the likely impact of a merger of the Hampshire constabulary with other forces on (a) police officer and (b) civilian staff numbers;
(7) how many representations he has received to date supporting the abolition of the Hampshire police constabulary as a stand-alone force.
The proposed merger of police forces into new strategic forces is intended to strengthen forces’ ability to protect the public better from serious crimes and terrorism and to embed neighbourhood policing. For any merger, decisions about future posts will be for the new strategic forces’ management teams to determine No proposal for a Hampshire, Dorset and Wiltshire combined police force, or a Hampshire and Thames Valley police force was submitted by forces and authorities in December 2005 and therefore no estimate has been made of any change in civilian posts under either of these options.
The estimate of the potential change in the number of civilian posts resulting from a Hampshire, Surrey and Sussex merger, based on assumptions submitted by Surrey, was a reduction of some 250 police staff posts under this merger, achieved through economies of scale and process re-engineering. The exact number of redundancies would be dependent on a variety of factors including natural wastage, effective use of workforce planning and utilising alternative employment.
Police forces and authorities in the South East submitted a cost benefit analysis of the best options for police structures in that region, including estimated Information Communication and Technology (ICT) costs, to the then Home Secretary in December 2005. This analysis was reviewed by the Home Office and informed the then Home Secretary’s statement of 20 March 2006 in which he stated that the merger of Surrey and Sussex police, along with the reconfiguration of Hampshire constabulary, Kent police and Thames Valley police as strategic forces, would be of the greatest benefit for the South East region. A joint Home Office, Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), Association of Police Authorities (APA) and Police Information and Technology Organisation (PITO) working group has been established to work in conjunction with police force project teams to ensure that all ICT requirements, and associated costs, are identified.
Police complaints and discipline statistics are not collected in the categories requested. The available information is drawn from the Home Office Police Complaints and Discipline Statistics produced for the years 1999 to 2003 and from the Police Complaints: Statistics for England and Wales 2004-05 produced by the IPCC.
Note:
The statistics collected by the Home Office, and from April 2004 the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), record decisions on the misconduct charges faced by all police officers in England and Wales as well as substantiated complaints by reason of complaint.
The presentation of information by the IPCC varies slightly from that previously used by the Home Office. We have provided the statistics from the categories that most closely relate to the categories contained in the question.
1 2 3 4 5 Most serious outcome 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 Dismissed 41 24 44 33 34 Required to resign 84 73 71 62 57 Reduction in rank 15 19 18 14 13 Reduction in pay1 (disciplinary punishment) 7 3 — — — Fine 154 191 169 138 115 Reprimand 86 88 58 42 45 Caution 51 50 42 21 18 No action (misconduct sanction) 4 8 7 14 42 Written warnings2 — — — — 880
1 2 3 4 5 Reason for complaint 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 2004-05 Oppressive Conduct/Harassment 54 56 59 46 57 Racially discriminatory behaviour 18 9 9 8 — Discriminatory behaviour — — — — 13 1 Information not recorded from 2002 onwards. 2 Information not recorded for the period 2000-04 Source: Columns 1 to 4 Home Office Statistics Column 5 IPCC Statistics
As my right hon. Friend, the Home Secretary indicated on 19 June and I re-iterated when I met the hon. Member, among others, the following day, we remain of the view that the creation of strategic police forces is the best way to improve protective services while safeguarding dedicated neighbourhood policing. However, we want to engage in a further round of dialogue and discussion with the policing community to discuss the best way to achieve that outcome.
As was made clear in the answer to which the hon. Gentleman refers, our assessment was based on the advice of Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary.
The available information is provided in the table. Figures are available only from March 1996.
As at 31 March Voluntary resignations2 Retirements3 1996 4 39 1997 11 46 1998 7 45 1999 19 36 2000 9 50 2001 8 53 2002 11 30 2003 9 30 2004 11 32 2005 15 24 1 Prior to 2003, FTE figures excluded those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. 2 Voluntary resignations does not include those who are dismissed and required to resign. 3 Retirements includes normal retirements and medical retirements.
[holding answer 20 June 2006]: The information requested is provided in the table. Figures are collected on behalf of Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Constabulary and are published in their annual report.
As at 31 March each year 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 Avon and Somerset 42 42 34 10 16 Bedfordshire 18 8 7 1 3 Cambridgeshire 11 10 8 4 1 Cheshire 22 22 25 15 11 Cleveland 9 21 11 11 11 Cumbria 24 7 7 4 3 Derbyshire 12 9 12 2 9 Devon and Cornwall 15 19 9 6 9 Dorset 12 10 3 9 4 Durham 8 15 11 6 7 Dyfed-Powys 14 13 11 7 9 Essex 34 32 21 16 13 Gloucestershire 7 10 13 5 2 Greater Manchester 110 57 33 10 14 Gwent 16 24 22 8 13 Hampshire 17 19 11 11 8 Hertfordshire 13 8 7 3 1 Humberside 20 11 10 2 10 Kent 29 38 21 9 6 Lancashire 30 39 22 13 11 Leicestershire 28 7 9 6 8 Lincolnshire 4 3 10 3 7 London, City of 9 8 4 8 4 Merseyside 47 58 51 25 25 Metropolitan Police 225 219 150 60 64 Norfolk 10 16 13 6 10 Northamptonshire 8 6 3 3 3 Northumbria 28 33 21 9 4 North Wales 31 20 14 6 7 North Yorkshire 37 16 9 8 8 Nottinghamshire 16 14 16 12 15 South Wales 76 50 33 14 8 South Yorkshire 30 30 17 12 3 Staffordshire 9 24 22 14 13 Suffolk 14 13 12 8 3 Surrey 18 24 12 10 6 Sussex 16 16 9 4 12 Thames Valley 20 17 29 17 8 Warwickshire 15 7 8 4 3 West Mercia 28 28 20 11 10 West Midlands 29 30 21 13 12 West Yorkshire 44 61 23 11 5 Wiltshire 5 3 15 2 6 Total 1,209 1,114 819 418 405
[holding answer 4 May 2006]: The Home Secretary has had numerous meetings on this subject.