Written question asked by Nigel Waterson (Conservative) on Wednesday, 6 June 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 11 June 2007. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Thursday, 21 June 2007 on behalf of the Home Office.

Serious and Organised Crime Agency: Manpower

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) support staff (i) the Sussex branch and (ii) other UK operational regions of the Serious and Organised Crime Agency has at its disposal.

Answer: As reported in SOCA’s 2006-07 annual report, at the year end actual employment was at approximately 4,400 full-time equivalent staff. These represented a mix of staff from precursor agencies (NCIS, NCS, IND and HMRC), Government Departments, secondees and some new recruits.SOCA’s functions are set out in the Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005. They are to prevent and detect serious organised crime, to contribute to its reduction in other ways and the mitigation of its consequences. All SOCA officers in the UK and overseas are deployed in support of these functions.SOCA is not a police force. Its officers may be designated by the Director General with the powers of a Constable and/or Immigration Officer and/or Customs Officer dependent on operational need and on the basis of the capability, suitability and training of the individual officer. On 1 April 2006, 1,821 SOCA Officers were designated with the power of arrest.

Secondary information