Police Officer Quarterly Strength Statistics Scotland, 31 December 2011

Notes

1. The first publication of police quarterly strength statistics as Official Statistics was on 2 December 2008. Prior to this publication, figures were collated by the Scottish Government and released through responses to Parliamentary Questions and by depositing the figures in the Scottish Parliamentary Library.

2. The following definitions apply to Table 1:

• Police Officers in Force - includes all officers employed by the force as well as those on Scottish Police College (SPC) training, long-term sick leave and maternity/adoption leave.
• Central Service - includes all officers seconded to Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland (HMICS), Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland (ACPOS), Scottish Government or similar posts.
• SCDEA/SPSA - includes all officers seconded to the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency (SCDEA), Scottish Police College, Forensic Services, and the Scottish Police Services Authority (SPSA).
• Secondments - includes all officers on secondments not otherwise covered, such as to local authorities.
• Additional Regular Police - officers at ports and airports paid either wholly or partially by the port/airport authority and additional officers either wholly or partially funded by the local authority or an external body.

3. These figures include all police officers employed by the eight Scottish police forces, but do not include police officers employed in Scotland by the British Transport Police, Ministry of Defence Police or the Civil Nuclear Constabulary.

4. Figures include all police officers employed by a force, including those on SPC training, secondment, central service, long-term sick leave and maternity/adoption leave, but excluding those on career breaks.

5. We are currently examining the breakdown of police officer numbers between 'Police Officers in Force' and 'Additional Regular Police', as presented in Table 1. An update will be provided in the next Police Officer Quarterly Strength Bulletin in June 2012.

6. Further information on Crime and Justice statistics within Scotland can be accessed at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Crime-Justice.

7. Official statistics are produced by professionally independent statistical staff - more information on the standards of official statistics in Scotland can be accessed at: http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/About.