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Police: Manpower

Volume 459: debated on Thursday 3 May 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what the ratio of police to public was in (a) Suffolk, (b) Bedfordshire, (c) Cambridgeshire, (d) Essex, (e) Hertfordshire and (f) Norfolk in each year since 1997; (134678)

(2) how many police officers per 100,000 residents there were in each police authority in England in each year since 1997.

The available data are given in the table. The relationship between the number of police officers and the number of members of the public are published in the form of “Total officers per 100,000 population” and these data have been provided.

Police strength data are published annually in the Home Office Statistical Bulletin series “Police Service Strength, England and Wales”. The latest publication (data as at 31 March 2006) can be downloaded from:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/pdfs06/hosb1306.pdf

Police officers (FTE)1 per 100,000 population2 by English police force3 as at 31 March 1997 to 2006

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

Avon and Somerset

204

203

203

197

197

205

213

229

225

226

Bedfordshire

200

197

189

185

184

189

198

210

215

213

Cambridgeshire

188

184

179

172

179

187

196

197

194

196

Cheshire

209

208

211

204

204

209

217

224

223

223

Cleveland

261

266

255

252

253

263

294

314

305

308

Cumbria

233

237

229

220

213

224

237

254

257

256

Derbyshire

187

184

182

183

187

189

210

216

213

212

Devon and Cornwall

186

192

186

182

187

192

204

208

212

219

Dorset

189

192

186

189

196

198

205

209

211

216

Durham

240

249

258

256

263

266

281

288

293

288

Essex

197

193

190

183

178

181

186

192

198

203

Gloucestershire

205

198

197

200

209

209

219

229

230

228

Greater Manchester

268

270

265

264

268

279

298

323

321

318

Hampshire

198

199

197

193

193

195

208

211

212

211

Hertfordshire

205

202

198

201

184

174

191

204

206

208

Humberside

230

228

223

219

217

234

244

256

255

251

Kent

210

209

204

203

209

210

221

228

227

227

Lancashire

228

229

228

223

228

231

239

252

251

253

Leicestershire

211

214

215

215

218

224

232

246

246

241

Lincolnshire

196

193

184

179

191

189

191

189

185

183

London, City of

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

Merseyside

296

297

298

290

291

294

302

303

318

315

Metropolitan Police

367

356

352

341

351

366

404

420

433

417

Norfolk

185

184

176

175

178

183

189

190

192

193

Northamptonshire

196

193

186

181

186

194

194

198

201

207

Northumbria

256

263

269

266

272

278

290

294

294

291

North Yorkshire

183

186

181

173

175

188

193

203

206

216

Nottinghamshire

225

225

216

214

214

226

239

245

245

243

South Yorkshire

242

244

243

243

245

246

252

261

260

259

Staffordshire

209

217

211

204

201

201

212

218

220

219

Suffolk

180

179

179

171

168

177

188

196

195

191

Surrey

209

207

212

227

192

184

182

183

184

184

Sussex

211

203

191

188

188

190

203

206

205

207

Thames Valley

180

183

180

178

175

177

186

195

198

202

Warwickshire

186

185

180

178

182

190

198

197

195

198

West Mercia

183

180

180

166

171

176

196

202

203

202

West Midlands

270

271

278

274

283

293

307

311

316

318

West Yorkshire

247

244

236

228

228

230

242

254

271

270

Wiltshire

195

195

192

185

184

189

190

198

198

196

1 Full-time equivalent figures are rounded to the nearest whole number. Figures up to 31 March 2002 ‘exclude’ staff on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave. The figures for 31 March 2003 onwards ‘include’ those on career breaks or maternity/paternity leave.

2 Officers per 100,000 population for city of London and Metropolitan police are combined.

3 Boundary changes on 1 April 2000 transferred some resources from the Metropolitan police to Essex, Hertfordshire and Surrey police forces.