Information on the total and full-time number of prison officers and prison custody officers in each year since 1997 is contained in the table. The information covers both public sector and contracted establishments and public sector headquarters functions.
Date Full-time Part-time1 Total Full-time equivalent 31 March 1997 18,340 — 18,340 18,340 31 March 1998 18,595 — 18,595 18,595 31 March 1999 19,156 — 19,156 19,156 31 March 2000 19,280 — 19,280 19,280 31 March 2001 18,782 184 18,966 18,874 31 March 2002 18,028 301 18,329 18,179 31 March 2003 18,387 410 18,797 18,592 31 March 2004 20,000 533 20,533 20,324 31 March 2005 20,604 659 21,263 20,995 31 March 2006 20,990 716 21,706 21,412 31 March 2007 21,226 850 22,076 21,724 31 March 2008 21,656 985 22,641 22,226 31 January 2009 21,812 1,100 22,912 22,449 31 March 2009 22,112 1,156 23,268 22,789 1Full-time/part-time split is not available prior to 2001.