Information on the number of cells in each force area is not held centrally. The provision of police cell accommodation is a matter for the chief officer of each individual force.
The number of places provided by police forces for Operation Safeguard use may vary according to operational pressures. The following table gives details of police forces that on 16 November 2007 had places available in police cells as part of Operation Safeguard.
Police force Places available Bedfordshire 3 Cambridgeshire 8 Cheshire 36 Cumbria 4 Derbyshire 5 Devon and Cornwall 6 Dorset 2 Durham 8 Essex 18 Greater Manchester 17 Gwent 9 Hertfordshire 10 Kent 16 Lancashire 7 Leicestershire 18 Lincolnshire 10 Metropolitan 54 North Wales 16 Northamptonshire 6 Northumbria 10 South Wales 13 South Yorkshire 8 Suffolk 8 Thames Valley 11 Warwickshire 8 West Midlands 40 West Yorkshire 26