Written question asked by Peter Bone (Conservative) on Tuesday, 12 May 2009, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 18 May 2009. It was answered by Lord Coaker (Labour) on Monday, 18 May 2009 on behalf of the Home Office.

Front-line Policing

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department what her most recent estimate is of the proportion of police officers' time spent on front-line policing.

Answer: We estimate that at the end of March 2008, 64.9 per cent. of police officer time was spent on front-line duties. This information is no longer collected by the Home Office as part of work to reduce bureaucracy.Having delivered the funding for record numbers in the work force it is important that the police service make the best possible use of their work force's time. The effective deployment of officers and staff will enable them to be in the right place at the right time to deliver for the public when they most need the police's help.

Secondary information