To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many police officers there were in Newark constituency in (a) 1997 and (b) 2009; and how many police community support officers there were in the constituency in (i) 2002 and (ii) 2009. (301003)

Police personnel statistics are not collected by parliamentary constituency. Newark constituency is within the Nottinghamshire police force area.

There were 2,323 police officers in Nottinghamshire constabulary as at 31 March 1997 and 2,380 police officers as at 31 March 2009.

Police community support officers were not introduced until 2002-03. There were 243 police community support officers in Nottinghamshire constabulary as at 31 March 2009.

This and other related data are published annually as part of the annual Police Service Strength Home Office Statistical Bulletin. The latest bulletin can be found at:

http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/rds/policeorg1.html

and bulletins for this and previous years are deposited in the Library of the House.