[holding answer 26 January 2007]: Figures for this year and previous years are set out in the tables.
Time spent on patrol is defined as time visible to the public and available to respond. As soon as an officer on patrol responds to an incident, or carries out any other activity, this ceases to be counted as time on patrol. The measure of time on patrol is therefore not an indicator of total frontline police presence. At the end of March 2006, 63.1 per cent. of police officer time was spent on frontline duties, as measured by the frontline policing measure.
Policing necessarily requires accurate recording, for example to ensure accountability and guard against abuse of powers, to prepare case files, or to take witness statements. Non-incident paperwork includes that relating to complaints, truancy sweeps, community policing activities, line management activities, and inquiries that do not progress to incident status.
Percentage Year1 Time spent on incident- related paperwork Time spent on non incident- related paperwork Total time spent on paperwork Time spent on patrol2 Frontline Policing Measure3 2003-04 10.3 9.8 20.1 14.2 62.1 2004-05 9.9 8.5 18.4 15.3 62.6 2005-06 10.8 8.5 19.3 14.0 63.1 1 Data were not collected before 2003. The information is taken from activity analysis, which is collected by all forces over a two-week period in each year and provides a snapshot of how officers are deployed. 2 Includes officers on foot/car/beat patrol, CID and traffic officers. 3 Data were not collected before 2003.
Percentage Year1 Time spent on incident-related paperwork Time spent on non incident-related paperwork Total time spent on paperwork Time spent on patrol 2003-04 8.8 10.0 18.8 18.0 2004-05 8.1 8.3 16.4 19.1 2005-06 8.6 7.9 16.5 17.3 1 Data were not collected before 2003. The information is taken from activity analysis, which is collected by all forces over a two-week period in each year and provides a snapshot of how officers are deployed.