Key facts
- According to the British Crime
Survey, crime levels have fallen by 48% since 1995.
- 53% of people thought that the police in their
area did an excellent or good job last year; 43% of people thought
the police could be relied on to deal with minor crimes; and 48%
believed they would be there when needed.
- The average police officer spends around 14%
of their time on patrol; the average police community support
officer spends 75%.
- It is estimated that officers spend around 20-30%
of their time completing paperwork.
- Alcohol-related crime is estimated to cost the
economy £7.3bn a year. 45% of victims of violence describe
their assailant as being under the influence of alcohol. 70% of
police officers believe that attending alcohol-related incidents
diverts them away from tackling other kinds of crime.
- Overall police spending was estimated at £12.6
billion in 2007/08.
- The police service spends around £1 billion
a year on technology, yet up to 70% of data has to be entered
into systems more than once.
- Only 12 out of the 43 English and Welsh forces
employ a workforce of over 6,000, considered to be the minimum
size for successfully tackling serious and organised crime.
- The police service employs around 145,000 police
officers, 77,000 police staff, 16,000 police community support
officers and 14,500 special constables.
- There are 6 applicants per vacant officer place
and 6% of officers leave the service or transfer to another force
each year. However, forces surrounding London have lost 1,038
officers to the Metropolitan Police in the last five years.
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