Yes, the number of full-time police has fallen but all credit to those special PCs who volunteer their time for free

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Decrease in numbers: Almost every force in the country has fewer constables

There is much noise over the news that the number of full-time police has fallen to its lowest level in nine years.

Almost every force in the country has fewer constables, as the 20 per cent reduction in government funding begin to bite.

Nationwide, there were 134,101 officers in the 43 police forces at the end of March, more than 5,000 fewer than the previous year, and down almost 10,000 since the 2010 election.

Labour (which itself planned to slash funding for the police, but has conveniently forgotten all about that) is jumping up and down.

Yvette Cooper, who probably does more complaining about ‘The Cuts’ than any other shadow minister, said: David Cameron's promise to protect the front line has been ripped apart by these appalling figures.

‘In just two years the Government has taken police numbers back by nearly a decade, weakened police powers, undermined morale and reduced crime prevention.’

The tactic, clearly, is to try to outflank the Tories from the right – quite an achievement, when you think about Labour’s record in government.

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Yes, they employed more police officers (though you rarely saw them on the streets, since they were so busy with paperwork on diversity and the rest). But, when criminals were caught, they were let off with a fixed penalty notice or caution. It was hardly ‘tough on crime’.

Anyway, behind the scuffle over police numbers, some curious statistics were largely overlooked.

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Firstly, we appear to be witnessing the slow demise of the Blunkett Bobbie.

The number of police community support officers has fallen by 9 per cent in a year, to 14,393.

Since the Coalition came to power, the number of PCSOs – who have a string of police powers, but receive far less training – has fallen by more than 2,500.

Many senior police were never keen on this army of yellow-jacket clad civilians. Now they are taking the opportunity provided to them by ‘the cuts’ to revert to a more traditional type of policing.

Perhaps more significant, however, is a huge increase in the number of special constables.

After years of decline from a peak in the 1950s, there are now 20,000 ‘specials’ patrolling the streets – up by almost 5,000 in only two years.

Within weeks of taking office, the government announced that it wanted to recruit thousands of extra special constables to flood crime-plagued neighbourhoods with an army of volunteers.

It immediately sparked accusations from Labour that the government was seeking to introduce 'policing on the cheap' - replacing police and community support officers with unpaid specials.

Volunteers: Although the number of police and community support officers has fallen, there has been a rise special officers who give up their time for free

Ex-Home Secretary Alan Johnson said: 'People volunteer to run the Scouts, not catch criminals. This is simply a cover for massive cuts to the number of police on the beat. '

But ministers said it was about giving local people the opportunities they need to join the fight against the loutish behaviour which had taken root under the last government.

The government’s policing blueprint said: 'By volunteering their free time, special constables and other police volunteers provide a tangible way for citizens to make a difference in their communities. They have a long history within the police.’

The number of specials peaked at over 67,000 in the 1950s, but fell to around 24,000 in 1974 and 11,000 in 2004. Now they are on the rise again.

Credit: There is a huge difference between specials and full-time police, but they give up their time for free which must be recognised

There is a world of difference between specials and full-time police. For starters, they can work – for free, of course – for as little as four hours a week. They are not by themselves going to fill the gap left behind by departing PCs.

But everybody who is prepared to go out and walk the streets in their spare time deserves huge credit.

David Cameron, whose Big Society has otherwise been such an unremitting shambles, has much to learn from the chief constables who have managed to recruit them.