Research Note 123 | 30 December 2012

“Visible and available” policing: The most and least efficient forces Peter Cuthbertson

With spending restraint needed across the board, it is vital that police forces improve their efficiency. Crime prevention does not have to suffer.

This report reveals figures for each police force – gathered using data from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of – and compares how many police officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) are “visible and available”. That is the best measure of the extent to which a police force can get officers out on the beat.

This new research shows that forces can do more to focus resources on frontline, visible policing. It provides a benchmark for the new Police and Crime Commissioners, who control police budgets and set the forces’ priorities. While much of the work done by forces that isn't visible has value, the amount of the amount of frontline visible policing for a given amount of spending is still a good proxy for value for money. Communities value officers on the streets and their ability to respond quickly in the event of a crime.

The key findings of this research are:

. On average, only 11.8 per cent of officers and PCSOs are “visible and available” to the public at any one time. This works out as £792,851 per year for every visible and available police officer and PCSO. £10 million buys an average of 13.7 visible and available police and PCSOs at any one time.

. By comparison, the total police budget for England and Wales is £13.2 billion, supporting the work of 149,000 police officers and Police and Community Support Officers. This works out as £88,615 for each police officer and PCSO.

. The forces with the highest share of police visible and available are (16.3 per cent), (15.8 per cent), Constabulary (15 per cent) and (15 per cent).

. The forces with the lowest share of police visible and available are City of London (7.2 per cent), Force (8.7 per cent), West Midlands (10.0 per cent), (10.2 per cent) and the (10.2 per cent).

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. The and Metropolitan Police have among the highest average costs per officer. For every £10 million spent, the City provides 86 officers and PCSOs (5.5 “visible and available” on average) and the Met provides 98 (8.9 “visible and available”). The City of London Police spends £1,813,871 for every officer or PCSO visible and available while the Met spends £1,120,342. It is worth noting that the City of London police and the Met have specific responsibilities for financial crime and anti- terrorism respectively. This reduces the amount of time that officers are able to be visible and available.

. Outside London, the police forces with the highest cost per visible and available officer/PCSO are:

- Warwickshire: £1,224,102 (8.2 visible and available for every £10 million spent on policing) - Northamptonshire: £955,968 (10.5 visible and available for every £10 million spent on policing) - Wiltshire: £931,846 (10.7 visible and available for every £10 million spent on policing) - Derbyshire: £931,826 (10.7 visible and available for every £10 million spent on policing) - Surrey: £842,711 (11.9 visible and available for every £10 million spent on policing)

. The police forces with the lowest cost per visible and available officer/PCSO are:

- Northumbria: £475,459 (21 visible and available for every £10 million spent on policing) - West Yorkshire: £521,971 (19.2 visible and available for every £10 million spent on policing) - Cleveland: £539,186 (18.5 visible and available for every £10 million spent on policing) - Nottinghamshire: £607,041 (16.5 visible and available for every £10 million spent on policing) - Norfolk: £616,242 (16.2 visible and available for every £10 million spent on policing) To arrange broadcast interviews, please contact:

Robert Oxley Campaign Manager, TaxPayers' Alliance [email protected] 07544 933 215

To discuss the research, please contact:

John O’Connell Research Director, TaxPayers' Alliance [email protected] 07708 506 643

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Police Force budgets compared to officer & PCSO strength, visibility and availability

Police Force Total Total Number Expenditure Average Expenditure Total Number Total Number Expenditure of Officers and Per Total Proportion of Per Average of Officers and of Officers and (Gross, £) PCSOs Officer and Officers and Total Officer PCSOs Per PCSOs Visible (February PCSO (£) PCSOs Visible and PCSO £10m Spent and Available, 2012) and Available Visible and per £10m (%) Available spent London, City of 101,789,000 876 116,197 7.2 1,813,871 86 5.5 Warwickshire 100,218,000 958 104,612 8.7 1,224,102 96 8.2 Metropolitan Police 3,602,845,000 35,163 102,461 10.2 1,120,342 98 8.9 Surrey 223,090,000 2,214 100,763 12.3 842,711 99 11.9 Northamptonshire 138,116,000 1,398 98,795 10.5 955,968 101 10.5 Wiltshire 116,437,000 1,226 94,973 10.5 931,846 105 10.7 Suffolk 126,788,000 1,355 93,570 12.8 760,568 107 13.1 North Wales 154,493,000 1,660 93,068 13.0 719,733 107 13.9 Derbyshire 185,900,000 2,008 92,580 10.2 931,826 108 10.7 Lincolnshire 117,149,000 1,284 91,238 11.5 814,311 110 12.3 Hertfordshire 203,305,000 2,230 91,168 12.4 773,156 110 12.9 Norfolk 163,055,000 1,800 90,586 15.0 616,242 110 16.2 North Yorkshire 143,978,000 1,593 90,382 13.6 667,988 111 15.0 Nottinghamshire 215,863,000 2,399 89,980 15.0 607,041 111 16.5 Cheshire 197,666,000 2,217 89,159 13.6 687,145 112 14.6 Cumbria 109,242,000 1,228 88,959 13.6 665,275 112 15.0 Dorset 134,942,000 1,519 88,836 13.0 684,961 113 14.6 Dyfed-Powys 107,376,000 1,209 88,814 14.0 657,761 113 15.2 Staffordshire 192,222,000 2,166 88,745 12.8 704,922 113 14.2 Cambridgeshire 135,453,000 1,529 88,589 12.1 765,759 113 13.1 Hampshire 336,487,000 3,819 88,109 10.7 827,240 113 12.1 Sussex 292,822,000 3,338 87,724 13.0 733,321 114 13.6 South Yorkshire 268,637,000 3,064 87,675 11.9 753,233 114 13.3 West Mercia 215,774,000 2,462 87,642 12.6 722,569 114 13.8 Avon & Somerset 295,605,000 3,392 87,148 10.6 826,654 115 12.1

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Police Force Total Total Number Expenditure Average Expenditure Total Number Total Number Expenditure of Officers and Per Total Proportion of Per Average of Officers and of Officers and (Gross, £) PCSOs Officer and Officers and Total Officer PCSOs Per PCSOs Visible (February PCSO (£) PCSOs Visible and PCSO £10m Spent and Available, 2012) and Available Visible and per £10m (%) Available spent Thames Valley 423,599,000 4,861 87,142 13.1 678,098 115 14.7 South Wales 278,586,000 3,217 86,598 11.7 763,036 115 13.1 Humberside 181,845,000 2,109 86,223 11.4 772,229 116 12.9 Bedfordshire 110,071,000 1,279 86,060 12.6 694,421 116 14.4 Leicestershire 200,116,000 2,370 84,437 12.8 694,621 118 14.4 Gloucestershire 116,110,000 1,403 82,758 12.7 675,318 121 14.8 Durham 124,750,000 1,509 82,672 10.7 781,322 121 12.8 Kent 315,320,000 3,843 82,050 11.6 721,721 122 13.9 Devon & Cornwall 294,699,000 3,599 81,884 Not available Not available 122 Not available West Yorkshire 485,600,000 5,996 80,987 16.3 521,971 123 19.2 Cleveland 138,046,000 1,713 80,587 15.8 539,186 124 18.5 Essex 301,908,000 3,802 79,408 12.3 654,638 126 15.3 Gwent 129,573,000 1,633 79,347 13.1 666,613 126 15.0 Greater Manchester 650,594,000 8,343 77,981 10.7 754,651 128 13.3 Lancashire 286,648,000 3,708 77,305 11.6 696,550 129 14.4 Merseyside 349,061,000 4,630 75,391 12.3 643,494 133 15.5 West Midlands 627,069,000 8,559 73,264 10.0 752,570 136 13.3 Northumbria 311,576,000 4,328 71,991 15.2 475,459 139 21.0

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