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Written question asked by David Amess (Conservative) on Monday, 11 May 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 13 May 2009. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Wednesday, 20 May 2009 on behalf of the Home Office.

Police: Essex

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) police officers and (b) operational police officers per head of population there are in Essex Police; what recent discussions she has had with the chief constable of Essex police on this issue; and if she will make a statement.
Answer

Latest available figures for police officers and operational police officers per head of population as at 31 March 2008 are shown in the following table. Deployment is not an issue that we would discuss. It is for the chief constable and the Essex Police Authority to reach decisions on the allocation of resources. We understand from the chief constable that over the next three to five years Operation Apex will increase the number of police officers by around 600.

Number of officers and operational officers employed by Essex police on 31 March 2008
Number (full-time equivalent) Rate per 100,000 population
Total police officers 3,385 203
Of which:
Operational police officers¹ 3,265 196
¹ Any officer whose primary role (i.e. over 50 per cent. of their time) is directly to deliver the overarching aims of the police service.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
492 c1465-6W; 275589
Session
2008-09
Subjects
Staff Essex Police
Contains statistics
Yes
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk