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Special Constables

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many special constables are serving, and what the total was on 1 May 1997, broken down by individual police authorities; how many special constables (a) were recruited to each police authority in each year since 1997 and (b) left; what regulations govern the method of recruitment and enlistment of special constables, and whether they vary between police area; and how long a gap there was on average in the last 12 months between a potential special constable's volunteering and eventual enlistment, broken down by police area. [65493]

Mr. Denham: Statistics on the strength of the special constabulary are collected by the Home Office Research Development and Statistics Directorate for the end of March and September each year.

The tables show the strength of specials, by force, in 1997 and 2001 and details, by force, of recruitment and wastage for each year since 1997.

The Special Constables Regulations 1965 (as amended) specify that a person appointed as a special must have attained the age of 18 years and be of good character and health. Beyond that, the regulations leave qualification for appointment to the discretion of the chief officer. However, the Home Office has issued guidance on the eligibility and recruitment of specials, in particular, Home Office Circular 12/2000, copies of which have been lodged with the Library.

Information on time taken between the application and appointment of specials is not collected centrally.

Special constable strength by police force area

	March 1997	September 1997	March 2001	September 2001
Avon and Somerset	759	629	400	391
Bedfordshire	182	186	115	119
Cambridgeshire	303	336	218	197
Cheshire	475	491	290	233
Cleveland	160	157	93	98
Cumbria	189	184	156	125
Derbyshire	428	414	275	263
Devon and Cornwall	1,148	1,079	796	780
Dorset	289	325	267	258
Durham	184	178	146	146
Essex	634	641	445	413
Gloucestershire	297	287	183	153
Greater Manchester	685	657	367	355
Hampshire	621	681	454	444
Hertfordshire	297	306	198	177
Humberside	340	348	212	207
Kent	589	588	392	366
Lancashire	483	500	360	325
Leicestershire	415	402	162	155
Lincolnshire	271	273	166	160
City of London	86	84	43	34
Merseyside	401	407	541	507
Metropolitan police	1,714	1,528	774	753
Norfolk	402	346	259	240
Northamptonshire	316	314	188	184
Northumbria	533	480	300	276
North Yorkshire	362	337	182	186
Nottinghamshire	620	597	335	281
South Yorkshire	308	295	188	189
Staffordshire	685	643	402	395
Suffolk	379	300	349	322
Surrey	297	231	149	176
Sussex	472	465	306	301
Thames Valley	656	694	418	377
Warwickshire	381	379	221	208
West Mercia	582	558	399	364
West Midlands	945	949	617	604
West Yorkshire	690	604	415	371
Wiltshire	154	150	152	160
Dyfed Powys	283	241	191	174
Gwent	157	149	137	148
North Wales	341	388	207	203
South Wales	361	362	254	250
Total all forces	19,874	19,163	12,722	12,068

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Recruitment and wastage 1997–2001—specials recruitment/wastage in the 12 months to 31 March, by force (England and Wales)

	1997		1998		1999		2000		2001
Police force	Recruitment	Wastage	Recruitment	Wastage	Recruitment	Wastage	Recruitment	Wastage	Recruitment	Wastage
Avon and Somerset	203	171	138	140	98	172	38	126	57	124
Bedfordshire	35	29	39	31	11	42	17	20	7	43
Cambridgeshire	106	53	103	86	62	36	58	76	43	79
Cheshire	272	71	140	119	64	119	15	59	4	58
Cleveland	16	29	25	21	39	22	13	27	7	10
Cumbria	30	41	39	31	40	28	18	46	7	25
Derbyshire	105	54	62	110	29	92	30	65	46	53
Devon and Cornwall	194	162	192	256	158	179	119	139	87	131
Dorset	70	25	90	42	54	50	48	31	22	48
Durham	47	49	41	41	47	37	36	30	34	43
Essex	185	154	173	165	84	130	61	106	92	128
Gloucestershire	34	51	33	48	12	55	20	38	13	36
Greater Manchester	156	217	94	181	66	141	73	139	41	131
Hampshire	235	88	222	128	252	190	90	235	50	177
Hertfordshire	61	74	53	43	33	62	31	42	27	41
Humberside	61	108	44	61	138	85	18	30	12	43
Kent	220	102	202	199	138	203	89	179	102	143
Lancashire	182	230	97	87	60	90	41	75	36	58
Leicestershire	84	31	61	70	17	107	25	94	0	85
Lincolnshire	46	50	60	66	27	71	14	30	8	40
City of London	32	23	22	32	17	29	8	14	0	15
Merseyside	145	61	141	58	111	52	55	24	77	57
Metropolitan police	191	246	127	264	7	94	1	39	41	29
Norfolk	154	71	64	129	84	83	36	86	35	61
Northamptonshire	89	68	39	63	26	76	35	76	53	64
Northumbria	121	60	63	153	72	103	60	71	58	79
North Yorkshire	96	40	68	72	32	114	32	114	25	60
Nottinghamshire	200	112	69	131	70	126	24	32	0	0
South Yorkshire	40	115	50	76	53	99	24	69	37	55
Staffordshire	120	140	69	108	55	121	64	58	17	91
Suffolk	56	78	86	69	107	92	90	119	55	97
Surrey	49	15	46	60	44	29	23	56	28	33
Sussex	76	116	105	134	55	83	41	82	27	58
Thames Valley	192	168	119	100	85	95	49	100	51	108
Warwickshire	65	64	66	119	44	128	44	128	0	41
West Mercia	66	72	72	79	81	71	61	50	64	334
West Midlands	398	350	213	243	145	206	115	116	120	150
West Yorkshire	207	221	81	200	117	130	163	180	102	126
Wiltshire	(58)—	39	36	22	61	25	23	34	45	66
Dyfed-Powys	57	89	80	112	29	46	21	44	24	45
Gwent	13	18	0	46	13	20	16	10	38	17
North Wales	119	35	57	52	38	56	10	82	11	18
South Wales	80	179	79	74	48	64	18	37	37	33
Total all forces	4,908	4,169	3,660	4,321	2,823	3,853	1,867	3,208	1,640	3,133

⁽⁵⁸⁾ Not available.

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department on how many occasions in each of the last five years the Metropolitan police has lost the files of those seeking to enlist as special constables. [65612]

Mr. Denham: The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis informs me that current records indicate there have been no missing files during the course of 2002. Information is not centrally available to the Metropolitan police service in order to indicate the position regarding the proceeding four years.

Mr. Gray: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what the establishment is of the Honourable Artillery Company's Metropolitan Special Constabulary; what its strength is; how many constables enlisted in each year since 1997; and what the delay between recruitment and enlistment was. [65611]

Mr. Denham: The Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis informs me that there is no specific establishment figure for the Metropolitan Special Constabulary Unit associated with the Honourable Artillery Company. The current strength of the unit is 14 special constables. It is understood that three special

10 Jul 2002 : Column 1075W

constables have joined the unit since 1997, but data on their year of joining or how long it took to process these individuals is not centrally available to the Metropolitan police service.

Yarl's Wood Fire

Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) how many persons charged with criminal offences arising out of the fire at Yarl's Wood have received legal aid to instruct solicitors and counsel; [68635]

(2) in relation to the fire at Yarl's Wood, how many criminal charges have been preferred; what the nationalities of those charged are; and what the charges are; [68652]

(3) in relation to the fire at Yarl's Wood, what allegations of crimes against Kosovan women were reported which did not result in charges being preferred. [68633]

Beverley Hughes [holding answer 9 July 2002]: These are all matters which should be addressed to the Chief Officer of the Bedfordshire police. However, I understand that 12 people have been charged with violent disorder in relation to the incident at Yarl's Wood. Of these, five are Nigerian, two are Algerian, two are Albanian, one is Kosovan, one is Yugoslav and one is from the Ivory Coast. I further understand that all of these people have received legal aid to instruct solicitors and counsel.

Reported allegations of crimes against Kosovan women is also a matter for the Chief Officer of Bedfordshire police. However, I understand that there have been no such allegations.

Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many potential witnesses in relation to criminal trials arising out of the Yarl's Wood fire have been (a) removed and (b) deported; and whether arrangements will be made for their return to give evidence. [68654]

Beverley Hughes [holding answer 9 July 2002]: Information about the number of witnesses who have been removed is not readily available and could be obtained only at disproportionate cost by an examination of individual case files. There is, however, an existing procedure in place for the police to contact the Immigration Service should they wish to request the return of a prosecution witness to attend a trial where there is a reason to believe that a person will not qualify for entry.

Mr. Malins: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department in relation to the fire at Yarl's Wood, how many persons absconded following the fire; how many have been recaptured; and what criminal charges have been laid against those recaptured. [68653]

Beverley Hughes [holding answer 9 July 2002]: In the immediate aftermath of events at Yarl's Wood on 14–15 February 2002 there were 21 detainees unaccounted for. Of these 15 remain unaccounted for. They are believed to have absconded during the fire and disturbance and efforts to trace and apprehend them are continuing.

Whether there should be any criminal charges against those concerned is a matter for the police.

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Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what assessment he has made of the cause of the clashes between detainees and Group 4 staff at Yarl's Wood prior to the fire; and if he will make a statement. [67676]

Beverley Hughes: Stephen Moore is currently heading a Home Office investigation into the events at Yarl's Wood and we await his recommendations. It would be inappropriate to comment further at the present time.

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