Skip to main content

Community Support Officers

Volume 454: debated on Tuesday 5 December 2006

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers there are per hundred thousand of population in each police force in England and Wales. (107662)

The available data are given in the table.

Police community support officer strength (FTE)1 per 100,000 population2 by police force in England and Wales

Number

Avon and Somerset

8.6

Bedfordshire

7.1

Cambridgeshire

13.7

Cheshire

7.5

Cleveland

18.1

Cumbria

3.4

Derbyshire

4.3

Devon And Cornwall

4.6

Dorset

8.7

Durham

11.2

Essex

11.7

Gloucestershire

12.6

Greater Manchester

9.9

Hampshire

1.7

Hertfordshire

13.4

Humberside

2.2

Kent

6.0

Lancashire

12.8

Leicestershire

14.4

Lincolnshire

11.5

Merseyside

14.3

London3

31.3

Norfolk

8.0

Northamptonshire

6.2

Northumbria

9.2

North Yorkshire

9.3

Nottinghamshire

10.9

South Yorkshire

9.4

Staffordshire

6.6

Suffolk

4.3

Surrey

11.8

Sussex

17.0

Thames Valley

6.1

Warwickshire

12.2

West Mercia

7.2

West Midlands

9.8

West Yorkshire

21.9

Wiltshire

9.1

Dyfed-Powys

5.2

Gwent

13.7

North Wales

8.6

South Wales

9.1

Total

12.8

1 Full-time equivalent figures include those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.

2 Population data taken from mid-2002 Population Estimates (ONS).

3 PCSOs per 100,000 population for City of London and Metropolitan Police are combined.

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police community support officers there were in each police force at (a) 1 January 2005, (b) 1 January 2006 and (c) the latest figures available. (106827)

The available data are given in the table. Police strength is collated by financial year and mid-financial year and figures are given as at the last day of the period (31 March and 30 September respectively). As the requested dates do not align with the financial year periods, the strength or a number of periods has been provided. The data are available in the relevant Home Office Statistical Bulletins for Police Service Strength, England and Wales. The most recent publication can be downloaded here: http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb1306.pdf

Police community support officer strength (FTE)1 by police force in England and Wales as at 30 September 2004 to 31 March 2006

September 2004

March 2005

September 2005

March 2006

Avon and Somerset

82

139

146

130

Bedfordshire

26

37

43

41

Cambridgeshire

56

87

92

101

Cheshire

47

81

77

75

Cleveland

75

98

86

100

Cumbria

6

17

19

17

Derbyshire

0

43

43

42

Devon and Cornwall

57

74

75

74

Dorset

22

47

56

61

Durham

36

69

72

67

Dyfed-Powys

4

25

24

26

Essex

80

179

193

192

Gloucestershire

49

72

62

72

Greater Manchester

198

269

264

251

Gwent

26

77

81

76

Hampshire

0

26

23

30

Hertfordshire

75

98

135

139

Humberside

0

20

20

20

Kent

58

105

103

97

Lancashire

115

161

159

184

Leicestershire

54

103

119

136

Lincolnshire

46

75

78

78

London, City of

0

14

14

11

Merseyside

90

170

161

196

Metropolitan police

1,810

2,144

2,053

2,315

Norfolk

55

68

67

65

North Wales

5

46

61

58

North Yorkshire

46

75

69

71

Northamptonshire

27

39

38

40

Northumbria

51

130

143

129

Nottinghamshire

69

113

112

112

South Wales

65

107

116

111

South Yorkshire

57

125

125

121

Staffordshire

13

63

62

70

Suffolk

15

34

33

30

Surrey

77

115

102

126

Sussex

183

228

231

257

Thames Valley

7

98

109

130

Warwickshire

43

56

56

64

West Mercia

67

81

86

85

West Midlands

40

219

247

252

West Yorkshire

264

394

433

462

Wiltshire

28

41

38

57

Total PCSO strength

4,125

6,261

6,324

6,769

1 This table contains full-time equivalent figures that have been rounded to the nearest whole number. Because of rounding, there may be an apparent discrepancy between totals and the sums of the constituent items. Includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. Data for strength as at September 2006 will be published in January 2007.