Police officer numbers in England and Wales have been rising for several years, though there are signs this trend may have levelled off, with a handful of forces recording a drop in recent months.
Here the PA news agency looks at the latest available Home Office data for the size of the police workforce.
– Police officers
The total headcount of police officers across the 43 territorial forces in England and Wales stood at 148,886 at the end of September 2024.
This is down 883 from a peak of 149,769 at the end of March 2024 and is down year-on-year by 278 from 149,164 at the end of September 2023.
The size of the police workforce is also measured by the number of full-time equivalent employees but headcount is preferred by the Home Office when reporting on progress in meeting recruitment targets.
Police officer headcount fell steadily for much of the 2010s, dropping from 146,030 in March 2010 to 125,094 in March 2018, before rising in recent years under the previous Conservative government’s campaign to hire thousands more recruits.
Of the 43 territorial forces in England and Wales, 16 recorded a fall in police officer headcount in the year to September 2024, 26 saw an increase, while one was unchanged.
Here is a full list, arranged alphabetically, giving the police officer headcount as of September 30 2024, the numerical change on September 30 2023, and the percentage change (in brackets) on September 30 2023:
– Avon & Somerset 3,338, down 33 (down 1.0%)
– Bedfordshire 1,469, up 13 (up 0.9%)
– Cambridgeshire 1,751, down 10 (down 0.6%)
– Cheshire 2,401, up 4 (up 0.2%)
– City of London 999, up 1 (up 0.1%)
– Cleveland 1,524, up 16 (up 1.1%)
– Cumbria 1,398, up 3 (up 0.2%)
– Derbyshire 2,136, down 32 (down 1.5%)
– Devon & Cornwall 3,682, down 34 (down 0.9%)
– Dorset 1,453, down 7 (down 0.5%)
– Durham 1,392, up 13 (up 0.9%)
– Dyfed-Powys 1,318, no change (no change)
– Essex 3,822, up 9 (up 0.2%)
– Gloucestershire 1,349, up 21 (up 1.6%)
– Greater Manchester 8,159, up 38 (up 0.5%)
– Gwent 1,554, up 27 (up 1.8%)
– Hampshire & Isle of Wight 3,404, down 18 (down 0.5%)
– Hertfordshire 2,405, down 21 (down 0.9%)
– Humberside 2,300, down 21 (down 0.9%)
– Kent 4,224, down 1 (down 0.02%)
– Lancashire 3,604, down 5 (down 0.1%)
– Leicestershire 2,298, down 22 (down 0.9%)
– Lincolnshire 1,218, down 4 (down 0.3%)
– Merseyside 4,193, up 3 (up 0.1%)
– Metropolitan Police 34,296, down 710 (down 2.0%)
– Norfolk 1,947, down 1 (down 0.1%)
– North Wales 1,737, up 9 (up 0.5%)
– North Yorkshire 1,674, down 11 (down 0.7%)
– Northamptonshire 1,505, down 13 (down 0.9%)
– Northumbria 3,857, up 32 (up 0.8%)
– Nottinghamshire 2,437, up 12 (up 0.5%)
– South Wales 3,564, up 29 (up 0.8%)
– South Yorkshire 3,087, up 28 (up 0.9%)
– Staffordshire 2,017, up 16 (up 0.8%)
– Suffolk 1,427, up 10 (up 0.7%)
– Surrey 2,328, up 3 (up 0.1%)
– Sussex 3,263, up 27 (up 0.8%)
– Thames Valley 5,088, up 92 (up 1.8%)
– Warwickshire 1,158, up 31 (up 2.8%)
– West Mercia 2,535, up 3 (up 0.1%)
– West Midlands 8,097, up 115 (up 1.4%)
– West Yorkshire 6,220, up 72 (up 1.2%)
– Wiltshire 1,258, up 38 (up 3.1%)
– Police community support officers
The total headcount of police community support officers (PCSOs) in England and Wales stood at 7,735 on September 30 2024, down 150 from 7,885 on March 31 2024 and down 246 from 7,981 a year earlier on September 30 2023.
This figure has been on a steady downwards trend for the past decade and a half, after peaking at 17,209 in March 2010.
Across the 42 territorial forces in England and Wales that employ PCSOs, 27 recorded a drop in headcount in the year to September 2024, 11 saw an increase, while four were unchanged.
Here is a full list, arranged alphabetically, giving the PCSO headcount as of September 30 2024, the numerical change on September 30 2023, and the percentage change (in brackets) on September 30 2023.
Norfolk does not appear on the list as it has not had any PCSOs since 2018.
– Avon & Somerset 327, down 60 (down 18.3%)
– Bedfordshire 40, up 2 (up 5.0%)
– Cambridgeshire 25, down 3 (down 12.0%)
– Cheshire 128, down 27 (down 21.1%)
– City of London 4, no change (no change)
– Cleveland 87, down 2 (down 2.3%)
– Cumbria 52, down 8 (down 15.4%)
– Derbyshire 194, down 13 (down 6.7%)
– Devon & Cornwall 151, down 5 (down 3.3%)
– Dorset 96, down 6 (down 6.3%)
– Durham 119, up 3 (up 2.5%)
– Dyfed-Powys 160, down 16 (down 10.0%)
– Essex 106, down 11 (down 10.4%)
– Gloucestershire 124, down 4 (down 3.2%)
– Greater Manchester 388, down 53 (down 13.7%)
– Gwent 170, down 31 (down 18.2%)
– Hampshire & Isle of Wight 188, down 20 (down 10.6%)
– Hertfordshire 169, down 11 (down 6.5%)
– Humberside 142, down 6 (down 4.2%)
– Kent 77, up 7 (up 9.1%)
– Lancashire 198, up 25 (up 12.6%)
– Leicestershire 168, down 9 (down 5.4%)
– Lincolnshire 55, down 14 (down 25.5%)
– Merseyside 185, no change (no change)
– Metropolitan Police 1,324, up 187 (up 14.1%)
– North Wales 189, up 1 (up 0.5%)
– North Yorkshire 173, down 32 (down 18.5%)
– Northamptonshire 80, no change (no change)
– Northumbria 109, down 24 (down 22.0%)
– Nottinghamshire 155, no change (no change)
– South Wales 457, down 105 (down 23.0%)
– South Yorkshire 114, down 3 (down 2.6%)
– Staffordshire 193, down 11 (down 5.7%)
– Suffolk 33, down 4 (down 12.1%)
– Surrey 75, up 1 (up 1.3%)
– Sussex 247, up 6 (up 2.4%)
– Thames Valley 265, down 4 (down 1.5%)
– Warwickshire 64, up 5 (up 7.8%)
– West Mercia 186, up 10 (up 5.4%)
– West Midlands 330, down 18 (down 5.5%)
– West Yorkshire 546, up 9 (up 1.6%)
– Wiltshire 88, down 2 (down 2.3%)
