ENG-1978 — Page 165

PUBLIC ORDER

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The policy of bringing the police closer to the people continued with the opening of a further 19 reporting centres in urban areas during the year; 11 of which operate as Neighbourhood Policing Units (NPUs). There are now 106 reporting centres (41 of them operating as NPUs) and 48 police stations.

Public requests for assistance throughout the year totalled 112,257 - an average of 307 a day. This was an increase of 12 per cent over 1977.

Recruiting remained a priority within the force and the campaign launched in 1977 was extended with a target of enrolling 2,210 recruits at inspectorate and constable level by the end of the 1978-9 financial year. A valuable asset in achieving this was the completion of a purpose-built air-conditioned mobile recruitment and display centre, which has the capability of carrying out on-the-spot initial recruitment procedures.

An innovation in Marine District during 1978 was the introduction of woman con- stables, 10 of whom were appointed as wireless/telegraphy operators after successfully completing a six-months training course. A further 10 woman constables were taken on strength and are undertaking the same training. The district has also appointed six woman constables on a trial basis to crew harbour launches, performing the same duties as their male counterparts.

Administration

By December 31, 1978, the police officer establishment of the force had risen to 19,064, an increase of 485 over the corresponding figure in 1977. In addition the force had an establishment of 3,846 civilians, representing 20.2 per cent of the overall establishment.

To keep pace with the increased establishment, extensive recruitment was under- taken and 8,282 applications for constable appointment and 2,114 for local inspec- torate appointment were received. Some 216 inspectors, of whom 91 were from overseas, were taken on strength, compared with 341 in 1977, 211 in 1976 and 153 in 1975. The number of constables taken on strength was 1,733 compared with 1,795 in 1977, 1,783 in 1976 and 1,454 in 1975.

The industrial action undertaken by a large number of police interpreters in September, 1977, came to a head with a one-day strike in February, 1978. Normal work resumed after it was decided that a special team would examine their pay and conditions of work. However, by the end of the year they had recommenced industrial action because of dissatisfaction with the results of the review.

Crime

During the year 57,076 crimes were reported to the police - 327 more than in the pre- vious year. Crimes on the decrease were robberies, 5,660 (6,525 in 1977); blackmail, 2,678 (2,840); burglaries, 5,412 (5,565); frauds 1,942 (2,052); and indecent assault on females, 710 (876).

On the increase were: miscellaneous thefts not associated with blackmail, 12,989 (11,234); serious assaults, 5,206 (5,039); and criminal damage to property, 1,852 (1,558).

The overall crime detection rate (excluding blackmail and associated thefts) was 56.3 per cent, compared with 57 per cent the previous year.

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