Annex IV
1. The Committee has posed two questions in
particular:
(i) how many police officers have been engaged
in traffic police duties during the last ten years?
(ii) what response to Her Majesty's Inspectorate
of Constabulary's report on Road Policing and Traffic (1998) ACPO
intends to make?
2. Police numbers
2.1 The figures below shows HMIC figures
(collated from police forces) for the years from 1996-97 to 2000-01.
Detailed figures for the years prior to this are not available.
| Forces | 1996-97
| 1997-98 | 1998-99
| 1999-00 | 2000-01
|
| Avon and Somerset | 206.0
| 210.5 | 206.5
| 200.3 | 210.5
|
| Bedfordshire | 90.6
| 89.0 | 79.0
| 73.0 | 69.0
|
| Cambridgeshire | 92.0
| 91.0 | 96.0
| 93.0 | 86.0
|
| Cheshire | 182.6
| 203.6 | 204.6
| 195.6 | 187.0
|
| City of London | 31.0
| 32.0 | 24.0
| 22.0 | 24.0
|
| Cleveland | 72.0
| 81.6 | 66.9
| 67.9 | 62.9
|
| Cumbria | 116.0
| 116.5 | 116.5
| 118.8 | 110.0
|
| Derbyshire | 138.6
| 138.5 | 146.6
| 138.6 | 135.6
|
| Devon and Cornwall | 226.0
| 215.3 | 211.8
| 215.3 | 202.3
|
| Dorset | 92.0
| 93.0 | 77.0
| 83.0 | 86.0
|
| Durham | 115.0
| 115.0 | 117.0
| 116.0 | 112.8
|
| Dyfed-Powys | 92.0
| 89.0 | 97.0
| 92.8 | 82.5
|
| Essex | 273.7
| 267.7 | 259.1
| 245.1 | 249.1
|
| Gloucestershire | 88.0
| 83.0 | 82.0
| 67.6 | 68.6
|
| Greater Manchester | 436.0
| 429.0 | 434.0
| 432.8 | 422.8
|
| Gwent | 94.0
| 93.0 | 88.0
| 89.9 | 89.5
|
| Hampshire | 268.0
| 261.0 | 278.0
| 251.0 | 240.0
|
| Hertfordshire | 157.0
| 157.0 | 158.0
| 155.0 | 168.0
|
| Humberside | 170.8
| 164.8 | 148.6
| 154.6 | 145.0
|
| Kent | 159.6
| 148.6 | 118.6
| 102.6 | 103.6
|
| Lancashire | 271.0
| 422.4 | 224.8
| 220.4 | 216.8
|
| Leicestershire | 86.0
| 85.0 | 86.1
| 87.0 | 95.0
|
| Lincolnshire | 95.0
| 95.0 | 95.0
| 93.0 | 88.0
|
| Merseyside | 209.0
| 197.0 | 200.0
| 185.0 | 130.0
|
| Metropolitan Police | 921.9
| 822.6 | 782.0
| 823.8 | 685.7
|
| Norfolk | 110.8
| 110.8 | 107.4
| 108.6 | 112.6
|
| Northamptonshire | 95.8
| 96.8 | 86.8
| 51.8 | 51.8
|
| Northumbria | 230.0
| 164.0 | 162.0
| 158.0 | 158.0
|
| North Wales | 125.0
| 143.0 | 236.0
| 134.0 | 146.0
|
| North Yorkshire | 129.0
| 127.0 | 128.0
| 96.0 | 129.0
|
| Nottinghamshire | 177.0
| 177.0 | 182.0
| 166.5 | 175.0
|
| South Wales | 187.0
| 155.0 | 220.0
| 224.0 | 238.0
|
| South Yorkshire | 206.6
| 196.6 | 196.6
| 196.4 | 206.4
|
| Staffordshire | 220.0
| 204.0 | 208.0
| 188.0 | 35.0
|
| Suffolk | 68.0
| 68.0 | 74.0
| 70.0 | 62.6
|
| Surrey | 199.0
| 176.0 | 177.0
| 173.0 | 197.0
|
| Sussex | 214.3
| 205.7 | 196.7
| 191.3 | 190.0
|
| Thames Valley | 268.0
| 271.5 | 264.8
| 251.4 | 250.5
|
| Warwickshire | 115.0
| 102.0 | 106.0
| 102.0 | 95.8
|
| West Mercia | 230.8
| 239.0 | 238.0
| 278.0 | 322.0
|
| West Midlands | 438.0
| 411.6 | 405.0
| 394.0 | 380.0
|
| West Yorkshire | 349.0
| 306.7 | 331.1
| 322.8 | 326.2
|
| Wiltshire | 95.0
| 96.0 | 90.0
| 92.7 | 91.0
|
| England and Wales | 8,142.0
| 7,951.5 | 7,806.2
| 7,522.3 | 7,238.3
|
2.2 Traffic police numbers (as defined by HMIC) appear
to have dropped by some 11 per cent over this period. Unfortunately
due to inconsistencies in counting rules and definitions this
figure is not robust and cannot be firmly relied upon. The true
picture is not so clear-cut.
2.3 In any event, in the context of speed enforcement
the future clearly lies with better use of modern technology rather
than with patrolling officers. The number of speeding offences
dealt with by the police is rising dramatically, and will continue
to do so (see Figure 1 in main report) despite the apparent decline
in patrolling traffic officers.
3. HMIC Report
3.1 ACPO made a full response to the draft report. The
report has been fully considered by ACPO Council. The central
theme of the report is that road policing had been given too low
a priority by the police service. In essence ACPO accepts that
this was the case.
3.2 Since 1998 much has changed. The NRPS has been reviewed,
and is being so again at the time of writing. National Speed Enforcement
guidelines have been produced and published, and consistency is
being achieved through the Camera Safety Scheme. Traffic intelligence
is now fully integrated with the Police National Intelligence
Model.
3.3 ACPO has no further comment to make on this report,
except to say that the Government must accept its share of responsibility
for the failure of the police service (in HMIC's view) to give
a high enough priority to road policing. ACPO wishes to see a
clear unambiguous statement from the Home Office, that roads policing
is core police work. If the subject is to attract and retain the
attention of Chief Constables then this is a must; proposing to
remove the casualty reduction performance indicator sends exactly
the opposite message.
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