Police Resources

Corporate Information Management Department

Force Headquarters, PO Box 37, Valley Road,

Portishead, Bristol, BS20 8QJ

Facsimile 01275 814667

Private
Steve Bennett
[FOI #26541 email]
Our Reference 011/10
Your reference
Date 08.01.2010
Dear Mr Bennett

Thank you for your request for information dated 7th January, relating to
the total number of officers by rank in the force for 2009. This request
will be dealt with under the terms of the Freedom of Information Act 2000.

Your request will now be considered and you will receive a response within
the statutory timescale of 20 working days as defined by the Act, subject
to the information not being exempt or containing a reference to a third
party. In some circumstances Avon and Somerset Constabulary may be unable
to achieve this deadline. If this is likely you will be informed and given
a revised time-scale at the earliest opportunity.

There may be a fee payable for the retrieval, collation and provision of
the information you request. If this is the case you will be informed and
the 20 working day timescale will be suspended until we receive payment
from you. If you choose not to make a payment then your request will
remain unanswered.

Some requests may also require either full or partial transference to
another public authority in order to answer your query in the fullest
possible way. Again, you will be informed if this is the case.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

Yours sincerely,

Freedom of Information Officer

Freedom of Information Officer
Corporate Information Management Department

Please note;

1. Requests and responses may be published on Avon and Somerset
Constabulary's website (within 24 hours), some of which may
contain a link to additional information, which may provide
you with further clarification.
2. Whilst we may verbally discuss your request with you in order
to seek clarification, all other communication should be made
in writing.
3. Avon and Somerset Constabulary provides you with the right to
request a re-examination of your case under its review
procedure (copy enclosed).

Corporate Information Management Department

Force Headquarters, PO Box 37, Valley Road,

Portishead, Bristol, BS20 8QJ

Facsimile 01275 814667

Private

Steve Bennett
[FOI #26541 email] Our Reference 011/10
Your reference
Date 12 February 2010

Dear Mr Bennett

I write in connection with your request for information dated 7^th January
2010 concerning the total number of officers employed by the Constabulary.

Your request for information has now been considered and the information
asked for is below.

Specifically you asked:

1. Please provide the total numbers of officers by rank within your
force for 2009

Please find below a table detailing the number of officers employed by
Avon and Somerset Constabulary and the numbers per rank as of 31^st March
2009, broken down to indicate the total head count (HC) and the full time
equivalent (FTE). These figures exclude officers on career breaks and
secondments. Avon and Somerset are only able to provide figures as of
31^st March 2009 as this is the information which is currently recorded.

FTE HC
Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) 6 6
Chief Superintendent 11.93 12
Superintendent 21.6 22
Chief Inspector 50.5 51
Inspector 173.85 174
Sergeant 499.57 507
Constable 2567.97 2628
Total 3331.42 3400

2. How many of those officers were assigned to response duties in

2009

The definition of response is open to interpretation and therefore the
Home Office guidance indicators have been used which details the areas
deemed to be frontline. The head count and the full time equivalent of
officers assigned are below.

HMIC Description HC FTE
Air (Air support unit) 7 7
Burglary 1 1
Child/Sex/ Domestic 173 161.03
CID 523 515.47
Community 61 58.85
Complaints and Discipline 14 14
Crime and Incident Management 56 51.16
Criminal Justice Units 64 61.63
Dogs 42 41.43
Firearms - Tactical 106 105.3
Foot/Car/Beat Patrol 1628 1601.78
Fraud 7 7
Intelligence 123 120.81
Mounted 12 11.52
Ports 21 20.03
Special Branch/ Protection/ Immigration/ Nationality 36 35.45
Surveillance 8 8
Traffic 167 166.53
Underwater 6 6
  3055 2993.99

3. What are the non response administerial departments within your
force?

Using the Home Office guidance document, as again this is open to
interpretation, please find below a table detailing the areas which are
deemed to be non response.

HMIC Description
ACPO and Directors
Control Room (Call Handlers)
Corporate Development
Custody
Department Heads
Local Commanders
Operational Planning
Personnel/Human Resources
Press and Public Relations
Recruits Modules 1-7 (Trainee Officers)
Staff Associations
Staff Officers
Training
Other

4. How many police officers are assigned to each of these
departments, by rank?

Below is a table which details the head count and full time equivalent of
officers in each of these areas as well as the officer’s rank.

HMIC Duty Description Rank HC FTE
ACPO and Directors ACPO 6 6
ACPO and Directors Constable 1 1
Control Room (Call Handlers) Superintendent 1 1
Control Room (Call Handlers) Chief Inspector 3 3
Control Room (Call Handlers) Inspector 10 10
Control Room (Call Handlers) Sergeant 6 6
Control Room (Call Handlers) Constable 21 20.55
Corporate Development Chief Superintendent 1 1
Corporate Development Superintendent 1 0.6
Corporate Development Inspector 1 1
Custody Inspector 2 2
Custody Sergeant 60 60
Custody Constable 15 13.48
Department Heads Chief Superintendent 5 4.93
Local Commanders Chief Superintendent 5 5
Local Commanders Superintendent 2 2
Operational Planning Chief Inspector 3 3
Operational Planning Inspector 1 1
Operational Planning Sergeant 2 1.25
Operational Planning Constable 10 9.45
Personnel/Human Resources Inspector 1 1
Personnel/Human Resources Sergeant 3 3
Personnel/Human Resources Constable 5 4.45
Press and Public Relations Sergeant 1 1
Recruits Modules 1-7 (Trainee Officers) Constable 61 61
Staff Associations Sergeant 2 2
Staff Associations Constable 2 2
Staff Officers Inspector 3 3
Staff Officers Sergeant 3 3
Training Chief Inspector 1 1
Training Inspector 7 7
Training Sergeant 18 17.8
Training Constable 73 69.95
Other Chief Superintendent 1 1
Other Chief Inspector 5 5
Other Inspector 2 2
Other Constable 1 1
Total   345 337.46

Police Forces in the United Kingdom are routinely required to provide
statistics to government bodies and the recording criteria is set
nationally. However, the systems used for recording these figures are not
generic, nor are the procedures used locally in capturing the data. It
should be noted that for these reasons the figures given relate to
information from the specific recording system of Avon and Somerset
Constabulary and should not be used for comparison purposes with any other
response you receive.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for your interest in
Avon and Somerset Constabulary.

Yours sincerely

Freedom of Information Officer

Freedom of Information Officer
Corporate Information Management Department

Please note:

1. Requests and responses may be published on Avon and Somerset
Constabulary’s website (within 24 hours), some of which may
contain a link to additional information, which may provide
you with further clarification.
2. Whilst we may verbally discuss your request with you in order
to seek clarification, all other communication should be made
in writing.
3. Avon and Somerset Constabulary provides you with the right to
request a re-examination of your case under its review
procedure (copy attached).

<<A&S Appeals Procedure.doc>>