The available data, numbers of police officer joiners in English and Welsh police forces and in North Yorkshire police force, are given in the table:
North Yorkshire England and Wales 2001-023 99 10,215 2002-033 97 13,126 2003-044 128 13,137 2004-054 123 9,908 2005-064 163 8,400 1 Financial year runs 1 April to 31 March inclusive. 2 Full-Time Equivalent. This figure includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. 3 Not comparable with later years; data includes transfers from other England and Wales forces and officers returning after a period of secondment. 4 Includes transfers from other England and Wales forces but does not include officers returning after a period of secondment.
[holding answer 6 February 2007]: The available data are given in the following table.
As at 31 March each year: 2003 20043 2005 2006 Avon and Somerset 333 390 315 368 Bedfordshire 85 124 131 132 Cambridgeshire 157 167 199 198 Cheshire 249 197 244 176 Cleveland 87 206 124 147 Cumbria 112 115 107 108 Derbyshire 177 161 262 242 Devon and Cornwall 370 387 402 439 Dorset 141 158 163 170 Durham 172 156 186 176 Dyfed-Powys 71 83 68 85 Essex 352 368 371 360 Gloucestershire 113 143 154 143 Greater Manchester 761 876 1,032 1,226 Gwent 140 133 132 125 Hampshire 343 346 370 353 Hertfordshire 280 318 293 323 Humberside 178 145 189 379 Kent 390 — 516 490 Lancashire 394 421 451 438 Leicestershire 158 200 236 214 Lincolnshire 109 111 110 114 London, City of 69 63 85 105 Merseyside 428 423 410 440 Metropolitan Police 3,516 3,831 4,566 3,640 Norfolk 155 164 160 175 Northamptonshire 111 114 263 286 Northumbria 562 653 550 528 North Wales 98 127 111 108 North Yorkshire 136 162 147 123 Nottinghamshire 307 293 287 315 South Wales 436 482 493 484 South Yorkshire 382 417 455 337 Staffordshire 260 301 321 280 Suffolk 142 134 148 150 Surrey 142 152 143 152 Sussex 321 312 302 304 Thames Valley 280 290 315 437 Warwickshire 136 138 168 180 West Mercia 326 289 309 291 West Midlands 825 861 882 1,009 West Yorkshire 578 658 591 578 Wiltshire 118 129 126 139 1 Staff with multiple responsibilities (or designations) are recorded under their primary role or function. The deployment of police officers is an operational matter for individual chief constables. 2 Full-time equivalent. This figure includes those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. 3 Excludes Kent. Data not provided.