Accredited official statistics

Police workforce, England and Wales: 31 March 2024

Updated 19 March 2025

Applies to England and Wales

Frequency of release: Biannual

Forthcoming releases: Home Office statistics release calendar

Home Office responsible statistician: Rosanna Currenti

Press enquiries: 0300 123 3535

Public enquiries: policingstatistics@homeoffice.gov.uk

Privacy information notice

Introduction

This release is an end-year update of the Police workforce, England and Wales publication series, containing information on police workers in post on 31 March 2024. This release also provides detailed information on police workers, such as protected characteristics (including age, sex and ethnicity breakdowns), joiners, leavers, length of service, promotions, long-term absences, limited duties, and the functions that workers perform.

Key findings

147,746 full-time equivalent (FTE) officers

were in post as at 31 March 2024 in the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales

• this was an increase of 0.2% on March 2023 (up 312 FTE from 147,434 officers)
• this is the highest number of police officers since comparable records began (in the year ending March 2003), higher than the previous peak of 147,434 FTE police officers in March 2023

Figure 1: Year on year change in FTE police officer numbers, as at 31 March 2010 to 2024, England and Wales

• the total paid police workforce (including officers, staff, police community support officers and designated officers) as at 31 March 2024, was 236,588 FTE, an increase of 1.2% on the previous year (233,836 FTE)
• excluding transfers, 9,479 FTE police officers joined the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales in the year ending 31 March 2024, a decrease of 6,848 FTE (or 41.9%) on the previous year
• there was a considerably higher number of police officer joiners in each of the previous 4 financial years (from April 2019 to March 2023) due to the Police Uplift Programme to recruit an additional 20,000 police officers by March 2023
• police officer joiners in the year ending 31 March 2024 are lower compared to recent years reflecting that the Police Uplift Programme recruitment drive has now concluded
• excluding transfers, 9,080 FTE police officers left the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales in the year ending 31 March 2024
• the number of officers leaving the service is the second highest number of leavers in a financial year since comparable records began in the year ending 31 March 2003; this is partly down to the fact that the workforce is growing creating greater scope for turnover
• the police officer leaver rate (leavers as a proportion of those in post at the start of the year) was 6.2%, 0.4 percentage points lower than the previous year and the second highest leaver rate since comparable records began
• the leaver rate for police officer voluntary resignations in the year ending 31 March 2024, at 3.4%, is the highest rate on record, and is similar to the previous year (3.3% leaver rate for voluntary resignations)
• 3,964 police officers (headcount) leaving the police service in England and Wales had less than 5 years’ service, accounting for 43% of leavers in the year ending 31 March 2024
• police officers voluntarily resigning from the service were more likely to be newer officers, with 72% of all police officers voluntarily resigning having less than 5 years’ service
• in England and Wales, 53,108 officers (headcount) had less than 5 years of service as at 31 March 2024, which accounted for 35% of all police officers
• over the last few years, as recruitment levels have increased due to the Police Uplift Programme, the number and proportion of officers with fewer than 5 years of service has also risen; as at 31 March 2016 (when data collection on length of service began), 18,262 officers (headcount) had less than 5 years of service accounting for 14% of all police officers
• the number of police officers working in frontline roles in England and Wales decreased by 1.0% in the 12 months to 31 March 2024, falling to 122,249 FTE; this is lower than the peak in 31 March 2023 when there were 123,465 FTE police officers in frontline policing roles
• officers working in frontline roles accounted for 90.4% of all officers as at 31 March 2024, a slight decrease on the previous year (91.1%), and below the record high of 93.4% in both March 2015 and March 2016
• the number of police officers employed in local policing roles in England and Wales decreased by 4.8% in volume in the last 12 months to 64,565 FTE, this is the second highest number of FTE police officers within local policing roles since comparable data began in 2015
• officers working in local policing roles accounted for 47.8% of all officers as at 31 March 2024, a lower proportion compared to the previous year (at 50.0%), and below the record high of 51.5% in March 2015
• there were 52,331 FTE female police officers in the 43 police forces on 31 March 2024, making up 35.4% of police officers in England and Wales, the highest number and proportion of female officers since comparable records began in March 2003
• there were 12,133 FTE ethnic minority (excluding white minority) police officers in the latest year, making up 8.4% of police officers in England and Wales, the highest number and proportion of ethnic minority (excluding white minority) officers since comparable records began in March 2003
• there were 5,934 FTE police officers on long-term absence in the 43 forces in England and Wales, equivalent to 4.0% of all officers, higher than the rate of 3.5% in the previous year

1. Introduction

1.1 General introduction

This release contains statistics on the numbers of police officers, staff, designated officers^{[footnote 1]}, police community support officers (PCSOs), special constables and police support volunteers (PSVs) in post on 31 March 2024. The statistics cover all the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales. Data from the British Transport Police (BTP) and the National Crime Agency (NCA) is provided in the accompanying data tables, though their figures are largely excluded from analysis within this report and do not count towards the England and Wales total (which relates to the 43 territorial forces only).

Unless otherwise stated, total workforce figures quoted in the bulletin include those on career breaks or other forms of long-term absence, as well as those seconded into police forces from other forces or central services. It excludes those seconded out from forces to central services. The workforce figures in this release are all presented on a full-time equivalent (FTE) basis unless indicated otherwise. The accompanying data tables provide the same information on a headcount basis.

The user guide to police workforce statistics contains further information, including a glossary, conventions used, and other background information. It contains further information on the quality and limitations of the various data sets, and the ways in which the Home Office engages with users of the statistics.

The data in this release, can be found in the ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: data tables’ and the accompanying open data tables.

1.2 Changes to the Police Workforce statistics release

Since initial publication of the 31 March 2023 figures, in July 2023, Wiltshire Police Force Area requested to amend their FTE police officer figure. The initial figure was 1,173.16 FTE police officers. This includes individuals on career breaks however some force Human Resource (HR) systems are adjusted to show the FTE as 0 when an individual is on a career break. This was the case for data submitted by Wiltshire. Wiltshire have provided an updated FTE figure of 1,177.21 FTE police officers for 31 March 2023, an increase of 4.05 FTE accounting for the full-time working pattern of individuals on career breaks. The data tables accompanying the 31 March 2024 edition of the ‘Police workforce’ statistical release and the open data tables have been updated to reflect amended figures for Wiltshire. This amendment does not affect officer headcount or any other worker type.

In response to user feedback, the 31 March 2024 edition of the ‘Police workforce’ statistical release includes new data sets not previously published.

This release includes new information on the length of service of police officers at the time of leaving the police service (section 4.3). Whilst officers on long-term absence have been routinely published, data provision within this release has been expanded to include other paid worker types (staff, designated officers and PCSOs) on long-term absence (section 9.3).

In addition, ethnicity data has been expanded in this release. Previously information on those in post as at 31 March and of joiners and leavers within the financial year was published broken down by the 5+1 Census ethnic groups (white, black, Asian, mixed, other and not stated). For the 31 March 2024 release ethnicity of those in post, and of joiners and leavers has been expanded to the more granular 19+1 ethnicity framework which aligns to the ONS 2021 Census. Information on the function individuals perform was previously published broken down by the 3+1 ethnic groups (ethnic minorities, white and not stated). For the 31 March 2024 release ethnicity of individuals by function has been expanded to the 5+1 Census ethnic groups.

Data collected on leavers from the police service is broken down by leaver type, including death, dismissal or contract termination, normal retirement, medical retirement, voluntary resignation and transfer. Voluntary resignations, up to the year ending 31 March 2023, included individuals who resigned or chose to leave under voluntary exit schemes. In the year ending 31 March 2024 the definition for voluntary resignations was amended. Voluntary resignations no longer include leavers via voluntary exit schemes. From the year ending 31 March 2024 onwards, those leaving via voluntary exit schemes are shown separately. The number of individuals leaving via voluntary exit schemes in the year ending 31 March 2024 is low. It’s therefore likely this change will have minimal impact on comparability of data over time.

In response to user feedback, in the 31 March 2024 edition of the ‘Police workforce’ statistical release the provision of data in an accessible open data format has been expanded and can be accessed on the police workforce open data tables page.

Whilst the primary function of workers has been collected and published annually since 31 March 2015 and can be found in the data tables accompanying each 31 March release of the police workforce statistics, the ‘functions’ open data table only included data from 31 March 2021 onwards. To make data more accessible, previous years back to 31 March 2015 have been included in the ‘functions’ open data table.

Information on officers on recuperative and adjusted duties has been published annually since 31 March 2015 in the data tables accompanying each 31 March release of the police workforce statistics. This data has been compiled into a single open data table and can be found in the ‘limited duties’ open data table.

In addition, information on the length of service of officers in post, as at 31 March each year, has been published since 31 March 2016 onwards in the data tables accompanying the 31 March release of the police workforce statistics. This data has been compiled in the ‘length of service’ open data table to make it more accessible.

1.3 Accredited Official Statistics status

These official statistics were independently reviewed by the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) the regulatory arm of the UK Statistics Authority (UKSA). They comply with the standards of trustworthiness, impartiality, quality and value in Code of Practice for Statistics and should be labelled ‘Accredited Official Statistics’.

Given the known issues around the quality of the data, statistics in this release on length of service, of both officers in post and of leavers, are designated as Official Statistics, and not Accredited Official Statistics. Further information can be found in the relevant leavers and length of service chapters.

1.4 Accountability statement

Our statistical practice is regulated by the OSR which sets the standards of trustworthiness, quality and value in the Code of Practice for Statistics that all producers of official statistics should adhere to. You are welcome to contact us directly via policingstatistics@homeoffice.gov.uk with any comments about how we meet these standards. Alternatively, you can contact OSR by emailing regulation@statistics.gov.uk or via the OSR website.

1.5 User engagement survey

To expand our user reach we have launched a user engagement survey to help shape future publications of these statistics. We want to further identify current users and uses of the data, as well as provide a chance for users to give their suggestions on how the publication can better meet their needs. Whilst the survey will be anonymous by default, we encourage regular users who are interested in establishing an ongoing dialogue with the Home Office to provide their contact details when prompted, as this will help develop the statistics and our user engagement plan.

1.6 Police officer uplift statistical series

On 5 September 2019 the then Prime Minister announced the Police Uplift Programme, a commitment to recruit an additional 20,000 police officers (headcount) in England and Wales by 31 March 2023. Throughout the associated recruitment campaign a quarterly statistical bulletin on ‘Police officer uplift’ was published, which included progress on the recruitment of an additional 20,000 police officers (headcount) in England and Wales by 31 March 2023.

The ‘Police officer uplift’ statistical bulletin was retired following release of final data in July 2023, covering recruitment up to 31 March 2023. Reporting on the size and composition of the police workforce continues on a biannual basis in this statistical series. The headline workforce figures in this release are presented on a FTE basis. Section 2.2 includes information on the latest police officer headcount figures. As stated in the 30 September 2023 edition of the ‘Police workforce’ statistical series, this release presents a one-year on comparison of police officer headcount in section 2.2. Following this release, reporting on the headline workforce figures will continue on a FTE basis. Whilst commentary will not be provided on the headcount of police officers, headcount data will continue to be available in the accompanying data tables and open data tables.

2. Headline workforce figures

Key findings

• as at 31 March 2024 there were 236,588 FTE police workers (including officers, staff, designated officers and PCSOs) employed by the 43 territorial forces in England and Wales, an increase of 1.2% on the previous year
• this is 7,500 FTE less than the peak of 244,088 FTE paid police workers in March 2010^{[footnote 2]}
• as at 31 March 2024, there were 147,746 FTE officers in the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales, a 0.2% increase from 147,434 FTE officers the previous year
• this is the highest number of police officers since comparable records began in the year ending March 2003, and higher than the previous peak of 147,434 FTE police officers in March 2023
• in addition, there were 2,910 FTE police officers employed by the BTP in England and Wales, 5,533 FTE officers in the NCA in England and Wales^{[footnote 3]}, and 371 FTE police officers on secondment to central services^{[footnote 4]}

2.1 Total police workforce

As at 31 March 2024, there were 236,588 FTE workers (including officers, staff, designated officers and PCSOs) employed by the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales (table 2.1), an increase of 2,752 FTE, or 1.2%, compared with a year earlier (when there were 233,836 workers).

Table 2.1: Police workforce, as at 31 March 2023 and 2024, England and Wales

Rank	2023	2024	Change(number)	Percentage change (%)
Chief officer	237	245	+9	+3.6
Superintendent (includes chiefs)	1,413	1,434	+21	+1.5
Chief inspector	2,033	2,166	+133	+6.6
Inspector	6,611	6,834	+223	+3.4
Sergeant	21,217	22,091	+873	+4.1
Constable	115,923	114,976	-947	-0.8
Total police officer ranks	147,434	147,746	+312	+0.2
Police staff and designated officers	78,596	81,303	+2,707	+3.4
Police community support officers	7,806	7,539	-267	-3.4
Total police workforce	233,836	236,588	+2,752	+1.2
Special constabulary	6,841	6,118	-723	-10.6
Police support volunteers	7,322	7,211	-111	-1.5

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: workforce open data tables’

Notes:

1. Excludes British Transport Police.
2. Includes assistant chief constables, deputy chief constables and chief constables, and their equivalents in the Metropolitan Police and City of London Police.
3. Special constables and PSVs do not have contracted working hours, so their numbers are provided on a headcount rather than FTE basis.

As at 31 March 2024, compared to the previous year there were increases in all police officer ranks with the exception of constables. Amongst the other paid worker types, the number of police staff (including designated officers) increased (by 3.4%), and the number of PCSOs decreased (by 3.4%) compared with the previous year. Amongst the unpaid workforce, the volume of both special constables and PSVs decreased (by 10.6% and 1.5% respectively).

Figure 2.1 shows the long-term trend in police workforce numbers, broken down by worker type. Workforce numbers had been increasing to 2010, then decreased in each year before reaching a low point in 2017. In the last 7 years the previous downward trend has reversed, and the latest figures show the total police workforce (all officer and staff types) has increased by 1.2% compared with the previous year. While officer numbers have peaked to the highest on record, the total workforce is down 3.2% on the previous peak of 244,497 in March 2010.

Figure 2.1: Police workforce, by worker type, as at 31 March 2003 to 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: data tables’; table H3

Notes:

1. Excludes British Transport Police.

In addition to the 236,588 FTE paid police workers as at 31 March 2024, there were 6,118 special constables (headcount) and 7,211 PSVs in the 43 police forces in England and Wales. Special constables and PSVs do not have contracted working hours so their numbers are provided on a headcount rather than an FTE basis.

2.2 Police officers

There were 147,746 FTE police officers in the 43 police forces as at 31 March 2024 (149,769 in headcount terms). This is the highest number of officers, on both an FTE and headcount basis, since comparable records began in the year ending March 2003. On an FTE basis, officer numbers as at 31 March 2024 are up 312 FTE, or 0.2%, compared to the previous peak of 147,434 FTE police officers 12 months ago in March 2023. On a headcount basis, officer numbers are up 203, or 0.1%, as at 31 March 2024 compared to the previous year (from 149,566 to 149,769).

While not included in the headline figures, the BTP employed 2,910 FTE police officers in England and Wales, an increase of 2.1% compared to the previous year (up by 62 FTE). In addition, there were 5,533 FTE NCA officers in England and Wales^{[footnote 5]}, and a further 371 FTE police officers seconded out to central services^{[footnote 6]}.

Figure 2.2 shows the number of police officers in the 43 territorial forces increased by 312 FTE (0.2%) compared with a year earlier, the sixth consecutive annual increase after a previous downward trend since 2009. Increase in police officer numbers has slowed compared to the previous 4 years which may in part be due to forces no longer recruiting to fulfil the Police Uplift Programme to recruit 20,000 police officers.

Figure 2.2: Change in the number of police officers (FTE), as at 31 March 2010 to 31 March 2024, compared with the previous 12 months, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: data tables’; table H3

Notes:

1. Excludes British Transport Police.

2.3 Other worker types and volunteers

Figure 2.3 shows the trend in the number of other police workers and special constables since 31 March 2010. Between 2010 and 2017, there was a downward trend in the number of police staff and designated officers. Since the year ending March 2017, there has been an upward trend in the number of police staff and designated officers up to 81,303 FTE in the latest year, an increase of 2,707 FTE (3.4%) compared to the year ending March 2023 (when there was 78,596 FTE staff and designated officers). Current numbers of police staff and designated officers are 2,133 FTEs below the peak recorded in March 2010 of 83,436 FTE.

PCSOs fell by 3.4% (267 FTE) compared to the previous year (from 7,806 to 7,539). The decline in PCSO numbers may be partly due to PCSOs joining as police officers as part of forces’ officer recruitment.

Special constables fell by 10.6% (a headcount of 723) compared to the previous year (from 6,841 to 6,118). Special constable numbers may be falling due to specials joining as part of the paid ranks within the police service.

Figure 2.3: Police staff and designated officers, PCSOs, and special constables, as at 31 March 2010 to 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: data tables’; table H3

Notes:

1. Excludes British Transport Police.

3. Joiners

Key findings

In the year ending 31 March 2024:

• 9,479 FTE police officers joined the 43 police forces in England and Wales (excluding transfers) a decrease of 6,848 FTE (or 41.9%) on the previous year when 16,328 FTE officers joined the police service
• there was a considerably high number of police officer joiners in each of the previous 4 financial years (from April 2019 to March 2023) due to Police Uplift Programme to recruit an additional 20,000 police officers by March 2023
• police officer joiners in the year ending 31 March 2024 are lower compared to recent years, reflecting the fact that the Police Uplift Programme concluded in 2023

3.1 Introduction

This chapter presents statistics on the number of joiners to the police service in England and Wales.

Data on joiners is based on the number of workers who joined the police service (or force) during the financial year and is based on FTEs. Joiner rates are calculated by dividing the number of FTE joiners during the financial year by the total number of FTE workers as at the end of the year (31 March). This indicates how many of those employed by the force at the end of the year joined during the year.

There are several routes via which officers can join the police:

Standard direct recruit: individuals joining the police for the first time, including via Direct Entry, Fast Track and Police Now schemes. This also includes those who were PCSOs and other police staff who are joining as a police officer.

Re-joining: individuals who have previously left the forces and have since re-joined.

Previously special constable: individuals who are joining as a police officer having previously been a special constable.

Transfer: individuals joining from one of the other 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales, or another non-Home Office force (for example, the BTP).

Further information on the routes via which officers join the police can be found in the user guide.

Data by Police Force Area, as at 31 March 2024, can be found in the accompanying data tables. Data on joiners in each financial year, from the year ending March 2007 onwards, broken down by Police Force Area, worker type, rank, sex, ethnicity and joiner type can be found in the accompanying ‘joiners’ open data table.

3.2 Police officer joiners

In the year ending 31 March 2024, 9,479 FTE police officers joined the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales (excluding transfers). The volume of joiners was 6,848 FTE below levels seen the previous year (a 41.9% decrease) when 16,328 FTE officers joined the police service in the year ending 31 March 2023. The number of police officer joiners in the latest year were lower than levels seen in the previous 4 years (between April 2019 to March 2023) but are higher than the number of police officer joiners in a given year prior to the start of the Police Uplift Programme as shown in Figure 3.1.

Most of the increase in joining officers between the year ending 31 March 2020 and 2023 can be attributed to the Police Uplift Programme to recruit an additional 20,000 police officers in England and Wales by 31 March 2023.

Figure 3.1: Police officer joiners1 (FTE), years ending 31 March 2007 to 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: joiners open data tables’

Notes:

1. Excludes those transferring in from other police forces.
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

Between the years ending 31 March 2007 and 2019, the majority (fluctuating between 60 and 80% each year) of officer joiners (including transfers) had been new recruits joining for the first time (figure 3.2). During the years ending 31 March 2020 to 2023, due to the Police Uplift Programme, there was a higher proportion of recruits as standard direct recruits, at around 85% of officer joiners (including transfers). In the most recent year, the proportion of standard direct recruits has decreased slightly to 81% of officer joiners (including transfers).

Figure 3.2: Police officer joiners (FTE), by route of entry, years ending 31 March 2007 to 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: joiners open data tables’

Notes:

1. Excludes British Transport Police.

3.3 Other worker type joiners

The number of PCSO joiners fell sharply to the year ending March 2011 and has remained at relatively low levels since (figure 3.3). Excluding transfers, the number of police staff and designated officer joiners decreased by 5.9% in the year ending 31 March 2024 when compared with the previous year. The number of new special constable joiners (headcount) has steadily declined in recent years and this trend continued in the latest year, which saw a 9.2% decrease in special constable joiners compared with the previous year.

Figure 3.3: Other police worker joiners (FTE), years ending 31 March 2007 to 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: joiners open data tables’

Notes:

1. Excludes those transferring in from other police forces.
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

4. Leavers

Key findings

In the year ending 31 March 2024:

• 9,080 FTE police officers left the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales (excluding transfers), a decrease of 113 FTE (or 1.2%) on the previous year when 9,192 FTE officers left the police service
• the volume of leavers in the latest financial year is the second highest number of leavers in a financial year since comparable records began in the year ending March 2003; this is partly down to the fact that the workforce is growing creating greater scope for turnover
• the leaver rate (leavers as a proportion of those at the start of the year), which takes into account the size of the workforce, was 6.2%, 0.4 percentage points lower than the previous year but the second highest leaver rate since comparable records began
• of police officer leavers in the year ending 31 March 2024, the most common reason for leaving was voluntary resignation (56% of leavers); the leaver rate for police officer voluntary resignations (at 3.4%) is the highest rate since comparable records began in the year ending March 2003
• in the year ending 31 March 2024, 9,236 police officers left the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales (excluding transfers) in headcount terms, of which 27% (2,469) had between 1 and 5 years’ service, and a further 16% (1,495) had less than 1 years’ service
• of police officers leaving via voluntary resignation in the year ending 31 March 2024, 72% had less than 5 years’ service and a further 10% had between 5 and 10 years’ service; very few officers that left via voluntary resignation had accumulated a long length of service, only 17% had 10 years’ service or more

4.1 Introduction

This chapter presents statistics on the number of leavers from the police service in England and Wales.

Data on leavers is based on the number of workers who left the police service (or force) during the financial year and is based on FTE. Leaver rates are calculated by dividing the number of FTE leavers during the financial year by the total number of FTE workers at the end of the previous year (as at 31 March). This indicates how many of those employed at the start of the current year left during the year.

These leaver rates are a good indication of turnover within the police but are not precise as individual workers cannot be tracked. Some workers may join and leave the force during the same year and will only be captured in the denominator (those employed at the end of the previous year). This is particularly the case for those worker types with higher turnover, such as special constables.

There are several routes via which officers can leave the police:

Death: those who have died, either on active duty or otherwise.

Dismissal or contract termination: individuals who have been required to resign, made compulsorily redundant, or have had their contract terminated. While these figures will include dismissals for misconduct, they are not exclusively misconduct cases, as they also include redundancies and contract terminations.

Medical retirement: individuals who have retired on ill health grounds.

Normal retirement: individuals who have retired, not on ill health grounds.

Transfer: individuals leaving to join one of the other 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales, or a non-Home Office force (for example, the BTP).

Voluntary resignation: individuals who resign. Special constables, who leave to join the regular constabulary, or have been inactive for more than 12 months, are included here.

Voluntary exit schemes: individuals who leave under voluntary exit schemes, voluntary redundancy schemes or voluntary severance.

Up to the year ending 31 March 2023, voluntary resignations included workers who chose to resign or leave under voluntary exit schemes. In the year ending 31 March 2024, the definition for voluntary resignations was amended. Voluntary resignation no longer includes leavers via voluntary exit schemes. From the year ending 31 March 2024 onwards, those leaving via voluntary exit schemes are shown separately. The number of individuals leaving via voluntary exit schemes in the year ending 31 March 2024 is low. It’s therefore likely this change will have minimal impact on comparability of data over time. Further information on the routes via which officers leave the police can be found in the user guide.

Data by Police Force Area as at 31 March 2024, can be found in the accompanying data tables. Data on leavers in each financial year, from the year ending March 2007 onwards, broken down by Police Force Area, worker type, rank, sex, ethnicity and leaver type be found in the accompanying ‘leavers’ open data table. In addition, whilst data on length of service of officers in post has been collected since 2016 onwards, length of service accumulated at the time of leaving was collected and published for officers for the first time for the year ending 31 March 2024. Data on length of service at leaving (for police officers only) can be found in the accompanying ‘length of service’ open data table.

4.2 Police officer leavers

In the year ending 31 March 2024, 9,080 FTE police officers left the 43 territorial police forces (excluding transfers) (figure 4.1), accounting for 6.2% of officers employed by the forces at the start of the year (figure 4.2).

Compared with the previous year there was a decrease of 1.2% in the number of officers leaving the service (down 113 FTE officers from 9,192) and is the second highest number of police officer leavers in a financial year since comparable records began in the year ending March 2003. This is partly down to the fact that the workforce is growing which creates a greater scope for turnover. However, the leaver rate, which calculates leavers as a proportion of those in post at the start of the year, was 6.2%, 0.4 percentage points lower than the previous year, and the second highest leaver rate since comparable records began. The year ending March 2021 saw a dip in both the number of leavers and the leaver rate, possibly due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Figure 4.1: Police officer leavers (excluding transfers), years ending 31 March 2010 to 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: leavers open data tables’

Notes:

1. Excludes those transferring out to other police forces.
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

Figure 4.2: Police officer leaver rate (excluding transfers), years ending 31 March 2010 to 2023, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: leavers open data tables’

Notes:

1. Leaver rates are calculated by dividing the total number of leavers (excluding transfers) during the financial year by the total number of workers as at 31 March of the previous year.
2. Excludes those transferring out to other police forces.
3. Excludes British Transport Police.

The number of officers leaving the police, in each of the last 5 years, is shown in table 4.1 by reason for departure, and the leaver rates are shown in table 4.2.

Table 4.1: Police officer leavers (FTE), by route of exit (where known), years ending 31 March 2020 to 2024, England and Wales

Year ending 31 March:	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Normal retirement	4,169	3,429	4,134	3,956	3,240
Voluntary resignation	2,363	1,996	3,433	4,575	5,058
Medical retirement	377	357	303	363	335
Dismissal or contract termination	163	169	180	222	364
Death	69	67	67	73	81
Voluntary exit scheme	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	1
Total (excluding transfers)	7,141	6,018	8,117	9,189	9,080
Transfer	1,405	1,024	1,186	1,348	1,202
Total (including transfers)	8,546	7,043	9,303	10,537	10,282

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: leavers open data tables’

Notes:

1. In the year ending March 2023, there were 3 FTE police officer leavers where the reason for leaving was not stated which have been excluded from the table.
2. Excludes British Transport Police.
3. Voluntary exit schemes were collected in the year ending 31 March 2024 onwards; [x] has been used to indicate where data is not available.

Table 4.2: Police officer leaver rates, by route of exit (where known), years ending 31 March 2020 to 2024, England and Wales

Year ending 31 March:	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024
Normal retirement	3.4%	2.7%	3.1%	2.8%	2.2%
Voluntary resignation	1.9%	1.5%	2.5%	3.3%	3.4%
Medical retirement	0.3%	0.3%	0.2%	0.3%	0.2%
Dismissal or contract termination	0.1%	0.1%	0.1%	0.2%	0.2%
Death	0.1%	0.1%	0.0%	0.1%	0.1%
Voluntary exit scheme	[x]	[x]	[x]	[x]	0.0%
Total (excluding transfers)	5.8%	4.7%	6.0%	6.6%	6.2%
Transfer	1.1%	0.8%	0.9%	1.0%	0.8%
Total (including transfers)	6.9%	5.5%	6.9%	7.5%	7.0%

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: leavers open data tables’

Notes:

1. Leaver rates are calculated by dividing the total number of leavers (excluding transfers) during the financial year by the total number of workers as at 31 March of the previous year.
2. In the year ending March 2023, there were 3 FTE police officer leavers where the reason for leaving was not stated which have been excluded from the table.
3. Excludes British Transport Police.
4. Voluntary exit schemes were collected in the year ending 31 March 2024 onwards; [x] has been used to indicate where data is not available.

Between the year ending March 2010 and 2020, the majority of officers leaving the service (excluding transfers) did so via normal retirement, which had typically accounted for around 60% to 70% of leavers annually (figure 4.3). In more recent years, since the year ending March 2020, there has been a noticeable change in the proportion of officers leaving by reason. The proportion of officers leaving the service via normal retirement has decreased year-on-year since the year ending March 2020, with 36% of leavers (excluding transfers) leaving due to retirement in the most recent year. This is driven by an increase in voluntary resignations, up from 4,575 FTE in the year ending March 2023 (50% of leavers) to 5,058 FTE (56% of leavers) in the year ending March 2024, reflecting an increased number of newer officers with fewer years of service who are more likely to leave than experienced officers.

Excluding transfers, the leaver rate (leavers as a proportion of those employed by the forces at the start of the year) for police officers leaving via voluntary resignations was 3.4%, similar to the previous year when the leaver rate for police officers via voluntary resignations was 3.3%.

The leaver rate for voluntary resignations has been on a general upward trend since the year ending March 2012, when it was as low as 0.8%, with the exception of the year ending March 2021 when the leaver rate dropped, thought to be linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. The leaver rate for police officer voluntary resignations in the year ending March 2024 (at 3.4%) is the highest rate since comparable records began in the year ending March 2003.

Figure 4.3: Police officer leavers, by route of exit, years ending 31 March 2010 to 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: leavers open data tables’

Notes:

1. Excludes those transferring out to other police forces.
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

Further information on the ethnicity and sex of police joiners and leavers can be found in chapter 8.

4.3 Length of service of police officer leavers

Length of service accumulated within policing at the time of leaving was collected for the first time covering the year ending 31 March 2024. This information is available for police officers only and is collected on a headcount basis.

Statistics on length of service are labelled as ‘Official Statistics’ rather than ‘Accredited Official Statistics’ due to a number of data quality issues. Some forces have reported problems extracting length of service data from their HR systems. Where officers have transferred from another force, or changed roles within a force, some constabularies record the length of service based on the date the officer started their current role (rather than the date the officer joined the police service). This is likely to skew the data towards shorter service periods and under-record longer periods of service when individuals have moved posts or forces.

While these issues will have less impact on the national picture, they are likely to have more of an effect on further breakdowns of the data, such as by force or rank of officer. While the findings in this section should be considered with caution, they give a reasonable indication of the picture at the national level, but users should be wary of making force comparisons.

In the year ending 31 March 2024, 9,236 police officers left the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales (excluding transfers) in headcount terms, of which 27% (2,469) had between 1 and 5 years’ service, and a further 16% (1,495) had less than 1 years’ service (figure 4.4). In total, 3,964 officers (headcount) leaving the police service in England and Wales had less than 5 years’ service, accounting for 43% of leavers in the year ending 31 March 2024. This is higher than the proportion of officers in post at the start of the year with less than 5 years’ service (36% as at 31 March 2023). Further details on the length of service of officers in post can be found in chapter 5. A further 26% (2,428) of officers that left the police service had a length of service of 25 years or more.

Figure 4.4: Length of service of police officer leavers, year ending 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: data tables’; table JL6

Notes:

1. Excludes those transferring out to other police forces.
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

4.4 Length of service of police officer leavers: by reason for leaving

There are differences in the length of service accumulated based on the reason for leaving the police service (table 4.3).

In the latest year, of the 3,286 police officers (headcount) leaving the service via normal retirement, over half (54% or 1,772 police officer leavers) had accumulated between 20 and 30 years’ service and a further 33% (1,091) had 30 years’ service or more. This reflects the fact that most police officers are entitled to receive a full pension after 30 years’ of service. Just 13% of police officers leaving via normal retirement had less than 20 years’ service.

Officers leaving via medical retirement also had a longer length of service profile. Of the 351 police officers leaving the service due to medical retirement, the majority (88%) had 15 years’ service or more whereas just 2% had less than 5 years’ service.

In contrast, the majority of the 5,151 police officers (headcount) leaving via voluntary resignation were newer officers with less experience; 3,714 (72% of all police officer voluntary resignations) had less than 5 years’ service. Breaking this down, 1,455 (28% of all police officer voluntary resignations) had less than 1 years’ service and a further 1,019 (20% of all police officer voluntary resignations) had between 1 year and less than 2 years’ service. Very few officers that left via voluntary resignation had accumulated a long length of service, only 17% of police officers leaving via this route had 10 years’ service or more.

Officers leaving due to dismissal or contract termination also tended to have fewer years of service. Of the 365 officers (headcount) leaving via this route, 171 had less than 5 years’ service, almost half (47%) of officers that left via this route, and a further 80 officers (22%) had between 5 and 10 years’ service. A total of 60 officers that left due to dismissal or contract termination had 20 years’ service or more which accounted for 16% of police officers leaving via this route. Just 1% of officers leaving due to dismissal or contract termination had 30 years’ service or more.

Table 4.3: Length of service of police officer leavers, by route of exit, year ending 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Length of service	Normal retirement	Voluntary resignation	Medical retirement	Contract termination and dismissal	Death	Voluntary exit schemes	Total (excluding transfers)
Less than 1 year	16	1,455	1	22	1	-	1,495
1 year to less than 5 years	42	2,259	7	149	12	-	2,469
5 years to less than 10 years	35	538	14	80	7	-	674
10 years to less than 15 years	65	277	19	24	7	1	393
15 years to less than 20 years	265	354	83	30	17	-	749
20 years to less than 25 years	658	184	120	41	25	-	1,028
25 years to less than 30 years	1,114	42	104	17	12	-	1,289
30 years or over	1,091	42	3	2	1	-	1,139
Total	3,286	5,151	351	365	82	1	9,236

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: data tables’; table JL6

Notes:

1. Excludes those transferring out to other police forces.
2. Excludes British Transport Police

4.5 Other worker type leavers

Of the other paid worker types, both police staff (including designated officers) and PCSOs, saw a decrease in the number of FTE workers leaving the service across the 43 police forces in England and Wales compared to the previous year (figure 4.5). The number of police staff and designated officer leavers decreased by 1,158 FTE compared to the previous year, from 9,309 FTE leavers in the year ending 31 March 2023 to 8,151 FTE leavers in the year ending 31 March 2024. The number of PSCO leavers decreased by 711 FTE compared to the previous year, from 1,891 FTE leavers in the year ending 31 March 2023 to 1,180 FTE leavers in the year ending 31 March 2024.

Figure 4.5: Other police worker leavers, years ending 31 March 2010 to 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024; leavers open data table’

Notes:

1. Excludes those transferring out to other police forces.
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

In the year ending 31 March 2024 of the paid police worker types, PCSOs had the highest leaver rate (excluding transfers), at 15.1% (Figure 4.6); this is a decrease on the previous year, when the leaver rate for PCSOs was 21.6%. This higher leaver rate in the previous year may be linked to PCSOs leaving their post to join the police officer ranks. Excluding transfers, police staff and designated officers combined had a leaver rate of 10.4%, a 1.8 percentage point decrease on the previous year (when the leaver rate was 12.2%).

Figure 4.6: Leaver rates by police worker type (excluding transfers), year ending 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: leavers open data tables’

Notes:

1. Leavers rates are calculated by dividing the total number of leavers (excluding transfers) during the financial year by the total number of workers as at 31 March of the previous year.
2. Excludes those transferring out to other police forces.
3. Excludes British Transport Police.

5. Length of service

Key findings

In the year ending 31 March 2024:

• 53,108 police officers (headcount) had less than 5 years of service, which accounted for 35% of all police officers. Breaking this down further, 6.1% (9,141 officers) had less than 1 year of service, and a further 9.4% (14,007) had experience of at least 1 year but less than 2 year
• the number and proportion of officers with less than 5 years of service has been increasing from 14% of all police officers in March 2016 (when data collection on length of service began), to 35% of all police officers in the latest year

5.1 Introduction

This chapter presents statistics on the length of service of officers in England and Wales. Data in this chapter refers to the situation as at 31 March 2024 and is on a headcount basis.

Statistics on length of service are labelled as ‘Official Statistics’ rather than ‘Accredited Official Statistics’ due to a number of data quality issues. Some forces have reported problems extracting length of service data from their HR systems. Where officers have transferred from another force, or changed roles within a force, some constabularies record the length of service based on the date the officer started their current role (rather than the date the officer joined the police service). This is likely to skew the data towards shorter service periods and under-record longer periods of service when individuals have moved posts or forces.

While these issues will have less impact on the national picture, they are likely to have more of an effect on further breakdowns of the data, such as by force or rank of officer. While the findings in this chapter should be considered with caution, they give a reasonable indication of the picture at the national level, but users should be wary of making force comparisons.

Data by Police Force Area, as at 31 March 2024, can be found in the accompanying data tables. Data on the length of service of officers in post, as at 31 March, from 2016 onwards, broken down by Police Force Area and length of service can be found in the accompanying ‘length of service’ open data table.

5.2 Police officer length of service: as at 31 March 2024

In the 43 forces in England and Wales, the number of officers with less than 5 years of service, as at 31 March 2024, was 53,108 (headcount), which accounted for 35.5% of all police officers. Breaking this down further, 6.1% of all officers (9,141 officers) had less than 1 year of service, and a further 9.4% (14,007) had experience of at least 1 year but less than 2 years. In the year ending March 2023, the number of officers with less than 5 years of service was 53,774 (36.0% of all police officers that provided their length of service) and, of these, 15,358 officers (10.3% of all police officers that provided their length of service) had less than 1 year of service.

Patterns in the length of service data tends to reflect recruitment trends over time. Relatively low levels of recruitment between the years ending 31 March 2011 and 31 March 2013 meant that the number of officers with between 10 years and less than 15 years of service, as at 31 March 2024, were relatively low (figure 5.1). Over the last few years, as recruitment levels have increased, due to the Police Uplift Programme, the number and proportion of officers with fewer than 5 years of service has also risen. The accompanying data tables include further breakdowns of individuals with fewer than 5 years of service.

Of all police officers, 8.2% had been in the service between 10 years and less than 15 years, and 15.7% had been in the service between 15 years and less than 20 years. Only 841 officers had served for 30 years or more, accounting for 0.6%. This reflects the fact that most police officers are entitled to receive a full pension after 30 years of service, leading to many officers retiring at that point.

Figure 5.1: Length of service of police officers (headcount), as at 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: data tables’; table JL5

Notes:

1. Where length of service within the police is not known force’s may have used length of service within the current police force instead.
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

5.3 Police officer length of service: over time

Over the last few years, as recruitment levels have increased due to the Police Uplift Programme, the number and proportion of officers with fewer than 5 years of service has also risen. As at 31 March 2016 (when data collection on length of service began), 18,262 officers (headcount) had less than 5 years of service accounting for 14% of all police officers. In comparison, as at 31 March 2024, 53,108 officers (headcount) had less than 5 years of service accounting for 35% of all police officers. Between 31 March 2016 and 31 March 2023, the number and proportion of officers with less than 5 years of service increased year on year, whereas March 2024 saw a slight fall in both the number and proportion with less than 5 years’ service compared to the previous year (figure 5.2). The accompanying ‘length of service’ open data table includes more granular breakdowns of individuals with fewer than 5 years of service with data presented to one year intervals.

Figure 5.2: Length of service of police officers (headcount), as at 31 March 2016 to 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: length of service open data tables’

Notes:

1. Where length of service within the police is not known force’s may have used length of service within the current police force instead.
2. Excludes where length of service information was not provided. As at 31 March 2021, length of service was not stated for 37 officers. As at 31 March 2023, length of service was not stated for 13 officers.
3. Excludes British Transport Police.

6. Promotions

Key findings

In the year ending 31 March 2024:

• 3,829 police officers (headcount) received a promotion in 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales, a decrease of 12.0% compared to the number of police officer promotions in the year ending 31 March 2023 (4,351)
• of all officers in post at the start of the previous year (March 2023), 2.6% received a promotion in the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales

6.1 Introduction

This chapter presents statistics on the number of officer promotions in England and Wales.

Data on promotions is based on the number of officers promoted during the financial year and is on a headcount basis. Data is collected by the rank to which an officer is promoted. Officers on temporary promotion and those promoted on transfer from another police force are not included.

Data by Police Force Area, as at 31 March 2024, can be found in the accompanying data tables. Data on officer promotions in each financial year, from the year ending March 2007 onwards, broken down by Police Force Area, rank, sex, and ethnicity can be found in the accompanying ‘promotions’ open data table.

6.2 Police officer promotions

In the year ending 31 March 2024, 3,829 police officers (headcount) received a promotion in the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales. This was a decrease of 12.0% in the number of police officer promotions compared to 4,351 promotions in the previous year (figure 6.1).

The rate of promotions, in the year ending March 2024, saw 2.6% of all officers in post at the start of the previous year (March 2023) receive a promotion in the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales. This is below the rate in the previous year ending March 2023, which saw 3.1% of all officers in post at the start of the year (March 2022) receive a promotion.

As in previous years, most promotions were seen at lower ranks, where the volume of workers is greater, such as constables promoted to sergeants (accounting for 61% of all promotions), and fewer promotions were seen in higher ranks, such as chief superintendents promoted to chief officers (accounting for just 0.4% of all promotions). This reflects the hierarchical structure of the police workforce, with fewer opportunities for promotion at the top of the pyramid.

Figure 6.1: Police officer promotions (headcount), years ending 31 March 2010 to 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: data tables’; table P1

Notes:

1. Officers on temporary promotion and those promoted on transfer from another police force are not included in these statistics.
2. The years ending 31 March 2018, 2019, and 2020 exclude the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), who were unable to provide data. MPS promotions data is therefore shown in blue where available.
3. Excludes British Transport Police.

Further information on the ethnicity and sex of police officer promotions can be found in chapter 8.

7. Functions

The Neighbourhood Guarantee, which is part of the Safer Streets mission, includes a milestone over this Parliament to place 13,000 additional police personnel into neighbourhood policing roles.   

Following the announcement of the Safer Streets mission, the as at 31 March 2024 ‘Functions’ data presented in this chapter has been revised since publication and, as such, chapter 7 is out of date and should not be used.   

An ad-hoc statistical release of National Police Chiefs Council management information to provide provisional revisions to the police officer and police community support officer neighbourhood policing figures can be found in the ‘Provisional revision to neighbourhood policing data, at 31 March 2024’.

Due to the limited detail in the NPCC management information, the Home Office is unable to provide revisions to this chapter and tables F1, F3, F5, F6, F7 at this time. Chapter 7 and the relevant tables will be updated following the conclusion of a detailed data collection exercise by the Home Office.

Key findings

• the number of police officers working in frontline roles in England and Wales decreased by 1.0% in the 12 months to 31 March 2024, reaching 122,249 FTE police officers (from 123,465 FTE the previous year)
• the current number of officers in frontline roles is lower than the previous year, which saw the highest number of officers in frontline roles on record (comparable recording began in March 2015)
• the proportion of officers employed in frontline roles as at 31 March 2024 decreased slightly, to 90.4% (compared with 91.1 % as at 31 March 2023); the proportion (at 90.4%) in March 2024 is below the peak in both March 2015 and March 2016 at 93.4%
• the number of police officers employed in local policing roles in England and Wales decreased by 4.8% in volume in the last 12 months to 64,565 FTE; falling below the record number as at 31 March 2023 of 67,785 FTE in local policing roles; this decrease may partly be due to an overall reduction in joiners.
• those working in local policing roles accounted for 47.8% of all officers as at 31 March 2024, a decrease compared with the previous year (50.0%); the proportion of police officers in local policing remained below the peak in March 2015, when it was 51.5%

7.1 Introduction

This chapter provides statistics on the number of police officers employed in frontline policing roles, according to the model set out by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS). Further details on the model can be found in Annex 4 of HMICFRS’s Value for money profiles and the user guide which accompanies this release. This chapter also presents statistics on police officers employed in local policing functions. Statistics presented in this chapter are based on the function a police officer spent the majority of their time doing.

Data by Police Force Area, as at 31 March 2024, can be found in the accompanying data tables. Data on officer, staff and PCSO functions as at 31 March, from 2015 onwards, broken down by Police Force Area, worker type, rank, sex, ethnicity and function can be found in the accompanying ‘functions’ open data table.

7.2 Changes to the police functions framework

Since 2012, the Home Office has published statistics on police officer, staff and PCSO functions, based upon a set of 60 function categories that had remained unchanged for several years. Following an extensive consultation with police forces, HMICFRS and other key stakeholders, the Home Office replaced the old functions framework with a framework based on the Police Objective Analysis (POA) categories. These are reviewed annually by the Home Office, HMICFRS and police forces, to ensure that they remain relevant and reflect current policing structures. The change was agreed in order to modernise the data collection, and to align it with the framework used by HMICFRS to collect data on police income, expenditure, and funded posts. This change came into effect from 31 March 2015 onwards.

7.3 Comparisons over time

The change of framework means that the police functions data based on the POA framework for 2015 onwards is not directly comparable with data collected under the old framework. Although some functions may appear to be similar between the 2, there are often differences in definitions, and so any attempts to compare across the 2 frameworks should be done with caution. Very few functions are comparable across both frameworks.

Data for the period March 2015 to March 2024 is directly comparable. For the period March 2010 to March 2014 the Home Office estimated the number and proportion of officers in frontline policing roles based on a dual collection that took place in March 2015. While these estimates offer an indicative picture of figures from March 2010 to March 2014, they should be treated with caution.

The POA categories are reviewed annually, therefore some categories may be added, removed, or amended from one year to the next.

Further details on the police functions framework, along with a full list of the functions included in the old and new frameworks, can be found in the user guide.

7.4 Frontline policing

As stated in section 7.2, the change in police functions framework has resulted in a loss of comparability over time. This is particularly true for the measure of frontline policing, as both the framework and the frontline model that is based on this have changed. This causes difficulties when attempting to make comparisons of frontline policing with previous years.

Further details on the model based on the new POA functions framework can be found in Annex 4 of HMICFRS’s Value for money profiles. One of the most significant changes was that National Policing functions, including Counter Terrorism and Special Branch roles, were excluded from the model entirely. Many of these were previously classed as frontline roles.

To provide a back series on frontline policing, the Home Office collected data from the police under both the old and the new frameworks in March 2015. This means data can be adjusted for previous years to create a longer time series. Estimates have been made at a Police Force Area level, for the period March 2010 to March 2014, which in turn has allowed the national England and Wales figure to be estimated. Further information on the method used to estimate the back series can be found in the user guide.

Figure 7.1 shows the difference between the old frontline measure and the estimated back series of the new measure for the proportion of frontline police officers.

Figure 7.1: Proportion of frontline police officers, as at 31 March 2010 to 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: data tables’; table F5

Notes:

1. Figures for March 2015 onwards have been calculated using HMICFRS’s frontline policing model. Further details on the frontline policing model based on the old functions framework can be found in HMICFRS’s Policing in Austerity: Meeting the Challenge report. Further details on the model based on the new POA functions framework can be found in Annex 4 of HMICFRS’s Value for money profiles. Both models exclude police officers recorded under the ‘other’ function category. The ‘other’ function category includes police officers on maternity/paternity leave, career break, full-time education or on suspension; and those on long-term leave (sickness, compassionate special or unpaid).
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

Figure 7.1 shows the proportion of officers employed in frontline roles as at 31 March 2024, was 90.4%, a slightly lower proportion compared to last year (91.1%). The proportion of officers in frontline roles has been on a downward trend since comparable data recording began in the March 2015, following a peak in both March 2015 and March 2016 (both at 93.4%).

Figure 7.2 shows the trend in the number of police officers employed in frontline policing roles as at 31 March, in each year from 2010 to 2024. Figures from 31 March 2010 to 31 March 2014 have been estimated. The underlying figures are presented in the main data tables, along with the number and proportion of police officers employed in frontline support and business support roles as at 31 March in each year from 2010 to 2024.

As at 31 March 2024, there were 122,249 FTE police officers employed in frontline policing roles, a decrease of 1,216 FTE officers (or 1.0%) compared with the previous year. The number of FTE police officers in frontline policing roles is similar to as at 31 March 2010 when there 123,384 FTE police officers, though this 2010 figure is estimated due to the changes to the function framework described at the beginning of this chapter. Directly comparable data begins from 31 March 2015. Figure 7.2 shows that the number of officers in frontline policing roles as at 31 March 2024 is higher compared with March 2015, when there were 110,853 FTE police officers in frontline roles but is below the peak recorded last year (at 123,465 FTE).

Figure 7.2: Number of frontline police officers (FTE), England and Wales, as at 31 March 2010 to 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: data tables’; table F5

Notes:

1. Visible operational frontline and non-visible frontline have been added together to give an overall frontline total.
2. Figures for March 2015 onwards have been calculated using HMICFRS’s frontline policing model. Figures for March 2010 to March 2014 have been estimated based on data for a parallel running year (March 2015) where data was collected using both functions frameworks. Further details on these estimates can be found in the user guide.
3. Excludes British Transport Police.

Table 7.1 shows the trend in the number of police officers employed in frontline, frontline support, and business support roles as at 31 March, in each year from 2010 to 2024.

Table 7.1: Number of police officers (FTE) employed in frontline, frontline support and business support roles, as at 31 March 2011 to 31 March 2024, England and Wales

As at:	Frontline	Frontline support	Business support
31-Mar-10	123,384	6,499	5,670
31-Mar-11	119,729	6,469	4,912
31-Mar-12	116,122	5,971	4,161
31-Mar-13	113,009	5,215	3,762
31-Mar-14	111,383	4,706	3,309
31-Mar-15	110,853	4,324	3,528
31-Mar-16	106,411	4,087	3,401
31-Mar-17	105,502	4,114	3,471
31-Mar-18	103,837	4,348	4,428
31-Mar-19	103,347	4,176	4,645
31-Mar-20	108,856	4,140	4,846
31-Mar-21	113,645	4,677	5,749
31-Mar-22	117,132	5,478	5,989
31-Mar-23	123,465	5,699	6,352
31-Mar-24	122,249	6,008	6,949

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: data tables’; table F6

Notes:

1. Visible operational frontline and non-visible frontline have been added together to give an overall frontline total.
2. Frontline support was previously named operational support under the old framework.
3. Figures for March 2015 onwards have been calculated using HMICFRS’s frontline policing model. Figures for March 2010 and March 2014 have been estimated based on data for a parallel running year (March 2015) where data was collected using both functions frameworks. Further details on these estimates can be found in the user guide.
4. Excludes British Transport Police.

Table 7.2 shows the trend in the proportion of police officers employed in frontline, frontline support, and business support roles as at 31 March, in each year from 2010 to 2024.

Table 7.2: Proportion of police officers (FTE) employed in frontline, frontline support and business support roles, as at 31 March 2010 to 31 March 2024, England and Wales

As at:	Frontline	Frontline support	Business support
31-Mar-10	91.0	4.8	4.2
31-Mar-11	91.3	4.9	3.7
31-Mar-12	92.0	4.7	3.3
31-Mar-13	92.6	4.3	3.1
31-Mar-14	93.3	3.9	2.8
31-Mar-15	93.4	3.6	3.0
31-Mar-16	93.4	3.6	3.0
31-Mar-17	93.3	3.6	3.1
31-Mar-18	92.2	3.9	3.9
31-Mar-19	92.1	3.7	4.1
31-Mar-20	92.4	3.5	4.1
31-Mar-21	91.6	3.8	4.6
31-Mar-22	91.1	4.3	4.7
31-Mar-23	91.1	4.2	4.7
31-Mar-24	90.4	4.4	5.1

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: data tables’; table F6

Notes:

1. Visible operational frontline and non-visible frontline have been added together to give an overall frontline total.
2. Frontline support was previously named operational support under the old framework.
3. Figures for March 2015 onwards have been calculated using HMICFRS’s frontline policing model. Figures for March 2010 and March 2014 have been estimated based on data for a parallel running year (March 2015) where data was collected using both functions frameworks. Further details on these estimates can be found in the user guide.
4. Excludes British Transport Police.

7.5 Local policing

Under the POA functions framework outlined in section 7.2, each individual police function is categorised into a broader group, one of which is ‘local policing’. This is defined as police officers and staff whose primary role involves at least one of the following:

• neighbourhood policing
• incident (response) management
• specialist community liaison
• working within the local policing command team

While data is provided by these sub functions in the data tables, some forces do not make a clear distinction between certain sub functions and therefore record the majority of, or all, employees under one function. This is particularly apparent for the ‘Neighbourhood Policing’ (1a) and ‘Incident (Response) Management’ (1b) functions. This may be due to the operational neighbourhood policing model forces employ, for example, officers may have roles which combine both ‘Neighbourhood Policing’ (1a) and ‘Incident (Response) Management’ (1b) functions. Therefore, all data presented in this section refers specifically to the wider function of “Local Policing”.

Full details on the definitions of each function can be found in table F4 of the accompanying data tables.

There were 64,565 FTE police officers employed in local policing functions as at 31 March 2024, a decrease of 3,220 FTE officers (4.8%) compared with a year earlier when there were 67,785 FTE officers in local policing functions. This is the first decrease following year on year increases between 31 March 2018 and 31 March 2023. Prior to this there had been a downward trend in local policing numbers. Those working in local policing roles accounted for 47.8% of all officers as at 31 March 2024 (excluding ‘Other’, ‘National Policing’ and where the function was not stated), a lower proportion compared to 12 months prior (50.0%) and similar to as at 31 March 2018 (47.8%). The decrease in police officers with local policing roles may partly be due to an overall reduction in police officer joiners in the year to 31 March 2024.

As at 31 March 2024, the number of FTE police officers within local policing functions was at the second highest level since comparable data began (as at 31 March 2015), though as a proportion of all officers this remained below the peak in March 2015, when it was 51.5%).

Table 7.3: Number and proportion of police officers (FTE) in local policing roles, as at 31 March 2015 to 31 March 2024, England and Wales

As at:	Number	Proportion (%)
31-Mar-15	61,083	51.5
31-Mar-16	57,415	50.4
31-Mar-17	56,430	49.9
31-Mar-18	53,822	47.8
31-Mar-19	54,158	48.3
31-Mar-20	59,176	50.2
31-Mar-21	62,353	50.3
31-Mar-22	63,684	49.5
31-Mar-23	67,785	50.0
31-Mar-24	64,565	47.8

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: functions open data tables’

Notes:

1. The proportions have been calculated excluding police officers recorded under the ‘Other’ function category, ‘National Policing’ functions and where the individuals’ function was not stated. The ‘Other’ category includes police officers on maternity/paternity leave, career break, full-time education or on suspension; and those on long-term leave (sickness, compassionate special or unpaid).
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

7.6 Police functions by ethnicity

Each individual police function is categorised into a broader group, such as local policing, road policing and national policing, for example, according to the POA framework outlined in section 7.2 and available in table F4 of the accompanying data tables.

Within these groups, data is collected on the ethnicity of the officer and proportions in this section are calculated by excluding cases where the ethnicity of the officer was not stated.

As at 31 March 2024, those identifying as white accounted for 91.6% of all officers and 8.4% of officers identified as belonging to a minority ethnic group (excluding white minorities), the same proportions as at 31 March 2023.

Some function groups were more ethnically diverse than others, just 4.3% of officers working in ‘Road Policing’ identified as an ethnic minority (excluding white minorities), the least ethnically diverse function group. ‘National Policing’ was the most ethnically diverse function group, where 10.5% of officers identified as an ethnic minority (excluding white minorities). Figure 7.3 shows the ethnic split across each policing function group.

Figure 7.3: Proportion of police officers, by ethnic group and function, as at 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: data tables’; table F7

Notes:

1. Proportions exclude cases where the ethnicity of the officer is not stated.
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

8. Diversity

Key findings

• as at 31 March 2024, white officers made up 91.6% of the workforce (excluding those who did not state their ethnicity), the same proportion as the previous year
• there were 12,133 FTE officers from minority ethnic groups (excluding white minorities), making up 8.4% of the workforce (excluding those who did not state their ethnicity), the same proportion as the previous year
• the proportion of officers identifying as an ethnic minority had been increasing each year since March 2007 (4.7%) until March 2024; in the last year the proportion of ethnic minority officers has remained steady at 8.4%
• black officers made up 1.3% of officers, Asian officers 3.8%, mixed officers 2.6%, and those from another ethnic group made up 0.7%
• representation of minority ethnic officers (excluding white minorities) was lower among senior ranks (chief inspector or above) compared with constables and other ranks – for example, 6.5% of officers of rank chief inspector or above identified as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities), compared with 9.0% of constables
• there were 52,331 FTE female police officers in the 43 police forces on 31 March 2024, making up 35.4% of police officers in England and Wales, where sex was known (up 0.7 percentage points from 34.7% last year); the highest number and proportion of female officers since comparable records began in March 2003

8.1 Introduction and changes to data collection on diversity

This chapter presents statistics on the diversity of the police workforce, focusing specifically on the ethnicity, sex^{[footnote 7]} and age of the workforce. It also presents information on the ethnicity and sex of promoted officers, joiners, and leavers.

The Home Office, the NPCC and the College of Policing have been collaborating in developing a National Standard for Workforce Data. These Data Standards draw on existing harmonised standards set out by the Government Statistical Service and aim to bring more standardisation within policing for the collection of data on protected characteristics (and some other demographic information). The variables currently covered by the Standards are ethnicity, age, religion or belief, disability, sexual orientation, gender, sex, and gender identity.

Information on their protected characteristics is self-reported by officers on police force HR systems. Recent changes to police force HR systems to align with the new Data Standards have allowed all staff the opportunity to review existing records and declare further information on protected characteristics. However, many officers are yet to update their profiles and, as such, data is not currently complete.

Since data on sex, age and ethnicity has been collected for longer, the data is more complete and reliable, so this chapter focuses on these protected characteristics only. However, additional protected characteristics on the proportion of officers broken down by sexual orientation, disability status and religious belief are available in Annex A.

Data on ethnicity is now collected using the updated ONS classifications, meaning that Chinese officers are now counted in the wider “Asian” ethnic group, prior to March 2021 they had previously been counted under “Chinese and Other”. While this change makes direct comparisons to previous years for the Asian and Other ethnic groups more difficult, as at 31 March 2024 Chinese officers made up just 0.2% of all officers who stated their ethnicity (312 out of 143,686 officers), so the impact of this change is minimal.

The Home Office and NPCC continue to work with police forces to improve the quality of data collected on protected characteristics.

8.2 Police officers: ethnicity

As at 31 March 2024, there were 12,133 FTE officers who identified as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities) in the 43 territorial forces in England and Wales, an increase of 167 FTE (1.4%) compared with a year earlier. Officers belonging to a minority ethnic group (excluding white minorities) represented 8.4% of all officers who stated their ethnicity, the same as the previous year. Since March 2007 the proportion of officers identifying as an ethnic minority (excluding white minorities) has increased each year until March 2023, when it remained steady at 8.4% (figure 8.1). This increase is a result of leavers from the police service predominantly identifying as white, and new recruits being from a more diverse background than their predecessors. However, the proportion of officers belonging to a minority ethnic group (excluding white minorities) remains considerably lower than the 18.3% of the population in England and Wales who identified as such in the 2021 Census^{[footnote 8]}.

Figure 8.1: Proportion of police officers who identified as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities), as at 31 March 2010 to 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: ethnicity open data tables’

Notes:

1. Excludes those who did not state their ethnicity.
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

Of the 43 forces, the MPS had the most ethnically diverse distribution of officers, with 17.7% identifying as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities). However, this was still well below the proportion of people resident in the capital who identified as an ethnic minority (46.3%) according to the 2021 Census.

The second highest proportion of ethnic minority (excluding white minority) officers was in the West Midlands Police, where 14.4% of officers who stated their ethnicity identified themselves as such (compared with 38.6% of the local population). This force was followed by Bedfordshire Police where 11.0% of police officers identified as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities) compared with 28.0% of the local population. Police forces covering more rural areas (such as Cumbria, Devon and Cornwall, and North Wales Police) had a less ethnically diverse workforce (around 99% of officers identify as white in these forces) reflecting their resident population within those areas.

As in previous years, levels of under-representation were higher among senior ranks (chief inspector or above) compared with constables and other ranks. For example, 6.5% of officers of rank chief inspector or above identified as belonging to a minority ethnic group (excluding white minorities), compared with 9.0% of constables (figure 8.2). This is likely to partly reflect a more ethnically diverse cohort of joiners in recent years, many of whom will have joined at constable level.

Figure 8.2: Proportion of police officers who identified as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities), by rank, as at 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: ethnicity open data tables’

Notes:

1. Excludes those who did not state their ethnicity.
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

Of the 12,133 FTE officers identifying as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities), 5,474 (3.8%) identified as Asian or Asian British, 3,740 (2.6%) as mixed, 1,874 (1.3%) as black or black British, and 1,045 (0.7%) as belonging to the “other” ethnic group.

8.3 Police officer promotions: ethnicity

Following the implementation of a new HR system in 2018, the MPS were unable to provide data on promotions for the years ending 2018, 2019 and 2020. However, since the year ending March 2021, data has been available for all forces.

Of the 3,829 police officers (headcount) promoted in the year ending March 2024, 3,724 (97.3%) indicated their ethnicity. Of these, 323, or 8.7%, identified themselves as belonging to a minority ethnic group (excluding white minorities). In comparison, in the year ending March 2023, 323 officers identifying from a minority ethnic group (excluding white minorities) were promoted, accounting for 7.6% of all promoted officers (figure 8.3).

Figure 8.3: Proportion of promotions where the officer promoted identified as minority ethnic (excluding white minorities), years ending 31 March 2010 to 2024, England and Wales (excluding MPS)

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: promotions open data tables’

Notes:

1. Data is on a headcount basis and excludes cases where the ethnicity of the officer promoted is not stated.
2. Excludes the MPS for the years ending 31 March 2018, 2019, and 2020 who were unable to provide data.
3. Excludes British Transport Police.

8.4 Police officer joiners: ethnicity

Excluding transfers, 9,479 FTE police officers joined the 43 police forces in England and Wales in the year ending March 2024, and 9,236 (97.4%) stated their ethnicity. Of these, 973 or 10.5% identified themselves as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities), a decrease on the previous year (10.7%).

The police forces with the largest proportion of joiners (excluding transfers) identifying as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities), were the MPS (25.3%), West Yorkshire (24.0%) and City of London Police (21.7%). West Midlands Police also had a more ethnically diverse cohort of joiners than other forces, where 20.3% of new joiners identified as belonging to an ethnic minority (excluding white minority).

8.5 Police officer leavers: ethnicity

In the year ending March 2024, and excluding transfers, 8,804 (97.0%) of the 9,080 FTE officers who left the 43 police forces in England and Wales stated their ethnicity. Of these, 871, or 9.9%, identified as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities), up from 845 FTE or 9.4% in the year ending March 2023.

There was a higher rate of normal retirements amongst white officers, which likely reflects the differing age profiles of different ethnic groups within the police service. For example, due to historically low levels of ethnically diverse recruitment, older officers were more likely to be white, meaning fewer officers from minority ethnic groups are likely to have yet reached retirement age. Rates of voluntary resignations and dismissals (which also included cases where a contract was terminated for reasons other than misconduct) were higher amongst officers who identified as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities) than white officers (figure 8.4).

Figure 8.4: Number of officers leaving by each exit route per thousand officers, by ethnicity, year ending 31 March 2024 England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: leavers open data tables’

Notes:

1. Leaving rates are calculated as the number of officers leaving via that route in the latest year, as a proportion of officers employed by the forces as at the start of the year (31 March 2023), by ethnic group, per thousand officer.
2. Excludes cases where the ethnicity of the leaving officer is not stated.
3. Excludes British Transport Police.

8.6 Police staff, designated officers, PCSOs, special constables, and police support volunteers: ethnicity

The proportion of workers in other areas of the workforce belonging to a minority ethnic group (excluding white minorities) was higher than for police officers (figure 8.5). As in recent years, the special constabulary was the most ethnically diverse part of the police workforce as at 31 March 2024, with 778 of the 5,669 special constables who stated their ethnicity identifying as ethnic minorities (excluding white minorities). Special constables identifying as ethnic minorities accounted for 13.7% compared with 18.3% of the resident population. Followed by PCSOs, of which 13.1% identified as ethnic minorities (in FTE terms).

Figure 8.5: Ethnic breakdown of the police workforce, as at 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: ethnicity open data tables’

Notes:

1. Excludes those who did not state their ethnicity.
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

8.7 Police officers: sex

There were 52,331 FTE female police officers in the 43 police forces on 31 March 2024, making up 35.4% of police officers in England and Wales, up slightly from 34.7% last year (figure 8.6). The number of female officers increased by 1,119 FTE (2.2%) compared with a year earlier.

As in previous years, of the 43 forces, Cumbria had the highest proportion of female police officers (42.6%), followed by North Wales (41.0%). The City of London Police had the smallest proportion of female officers (24.2%) followed by the MPS (31.3%), and Dorset Police (32.6%).

Figure 8.6: Proportion of female police officers, as at 31 March 2010 to 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: workforce open data tables’

Notes:

1. Excludes cases where the sex of the officer is not stated.
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

Female officers were more commonly found in constable ranks, which reflected the increasing diversity of the workforce in recent years, with most new joiners coming in at constable level (figure 8.7).

Figure 8.7: Proportion of female police officers, by rank, as at 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: workforce open data tables’

Notes:

1. Excludes cases where both the gender and sex of the officer is not stated.
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

8.8 Police officer promotions: sex

Of the 3,829 police officers (headcount) promoted in the 43 police forces in the year ending March 2024, 1,258 were female, which accounted for 32.9% of all officers promoted. The number of female officers promoted is a slight decrease compared to the year ending March 2023 (1,327); however, the proportion of female officers promoted is higher compared to the year ending March 2023 (30.5%).

8.9 Police officer joiners and leavers: sex

Excluding transfers, of the 9,479 FTE police officers that joined the 43 police forces in the year to March 2024, 42.8% (4,061 FTE) identified as female, a decrease compared with the previous year when females accounted for 43.2% (7,047 FTE) of all joiners, the second highest proportion on record. Between the year ending March 2010 and the year ending March 2020 the proportion of female joiners varied between 30% and 37%.

The proportion of female joiners in the year ending 31 March 2024 (42.8%) was higher than the proportion of current officers that were female as at 31 March 2024 (35.4%). This showed a continued rising trend in the proportion of all officers that were female.

Of the 9,080 FTE officer leavers (excluding transfers) during the year to March 2024, 2,910 or 32.0% were female, compared with 30.9% in the previous year. Most female officers left either via voluntary resignation (66.1% of all female leavers (excluding transfers), compared with 50.8% of all male leavers) or normal retirements (27.0% of all female leavers (excluding transfers), compared with 39.8% of all male leavers) in the year ending March 2024.

8.10 Police staff, designated officers, PCSOs, special constables, and police support volunteers: sex

Figure 8.8 shows, as at 31 March 2024, females made up 62.7% of FTE police staff and designated officers in the 43 forces in England and Wales, and 47.1% of FTE PCSOs. The proportion of females in the special constabulary was the lowest across all worker types, with 25.1% of special constables (headcount) being female.

Figure 8.8: Police workforce by sex, as at 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: workforce open data tables’

8.11 Police officers: age

As at 31 March 2024, most police officers were aged 26 to 40 (45.4% of police officers who stated their age), this was closely followed by those aged 41 to 55 (39.5% of police officers who stated their age). A further 13.1% of police officers who stated their age were aged 25 and under and 2.1% were aged 56 and over. The age profile is similar to the previous year when 45.5% of police officers were aged 26 to 40, 39.3% were aged 41 to 55, 13.5% were aged 25 and under, and 1.8% were aged 56 and over. As expected, the age profile varied by rank, with a large proportion of older officers in more senior ranks; for example, while just 3 chief officers (1.2%) were aged 26 to 40, almost half (49.7%) of constables were.

Figure 8.9: Age breakdown of police officers, by rank, as at 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: data tables’; table D5

Notes:

1. Excludes cases where the age of the officer is not stated.
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

8.12 Police staff, PCSOs, designated officers and special constables: age

Figure 8.10 shows the variation in the age profile of the police workforce. PCSOs and police staff tended to be older than other worker types, with 18.9% of PCSOs and 24.6% of staff and designated officers aged 56 and over, compared with just 2.1% of officers. In contrast, the special constabulary had a younger profile than the paid ranks, with 18.5% of special constables aged under 26 compared with 13.1% of police officers.

Figure 8.10: Age breakdown of police workers, by worker type, as at 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: age open data tables’

Notes:

1. Excludes cases where the age of the worker is not stated.
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

9. Long-term absence

Key findings

• as at 31 March 2024, there were 5,934 FTE police officers on long-term absence in the 43 forces in England and Wales (equivalent to 4.0% of all officers) – higher than the rate of 3.5% in the previous year
• of these, 3,055 FTE police officers were on long-term sick leave, which is equivalent to 2.1% of police officers in England and Wales – higher than the rate of 1.7% in the previous year
• as at 31 March 2024, there were 2,911 FTE police staff (including designated officers) on long-term absence in the 43 forces in England and Wales (equivalent to 3.6% of all staff)
• of these, 1,574 FTE staff were on long-term sick leave, which is equivalent to 1.9% of staff in England and Wales
• as at 31 March 2024, there were 335 FTE PCSOs on long-term absence in the 43 forces in England and Wales (equivalent to 4.4% of all PCSOs); of these, 187 FTE PCSOs were on long-term sick leave, which is equivalent to 2.5% of PCSOs in England and Wales

9.1 Introduction

This chapter provides information on the number of police workers on long-term absence, by reason for absence, as at 31 March of each year. Long-term absence is any absence that has lasted for more than 28 calendar days, as at the end of the reporting period (31 March). Reasons for absence include career break, compassionate leave, maternity or paternity leave, sick leave, special leave, study leave, and suspension. Long-term sickness includes any recognised medical condition, physical or psychological, as reported by the officer or a medical practitioner, which has lasted for more than 28 calendar days.

Data by Police Force Area, as at 31 March 2024, can be found in the accompanying data tables. Data on long-term absence each year, as at 31 March, from 2007 onwards, broken down by Police Force Area, worker type, rank, sex and absence type can be found in the accompanying ‘absence’ open data table. Data for police officers has been collected since 2007 whilst data on other worker types (including staff, designated officers and PCSOs) is published as at 31 March 2024 for the first time.

9.2 Police officers on long-term absence

As at 31 March 2024, there were 5,934 FTE officers on long-term absence (for all reasons) in the 43 forces in England and Wales. This equates to 4.0% of all officers in post, slightly higher than the rate of 3.5% in the previous year.

Figure 9.1 shows of officers on long-term absence, 3,055 (51%) were on sick leave, 1,428 (24%) were on maternity or paternity leave, 701 (12%) were on career breaks, and 694 (12%) were suspended. The remaining 57 (1%) were on ‘other leave’ (which includes compassionate leave, study leave, and special leave).

Figure 9.1: Number of officers (FTE) on long-term absence broken down by absence type and sex, as at 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: absence open data tables’

Notes:

1. In order to be classed as long-term, an officer must be absent for more than 28 calendar days.
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

Although females accounted for 35% of police officers in England and Wales as at 31 March 2024, they accounted for 52% of all long-term absentees. However, excluding maternity or paternity leave, females accounted for 38% of all absentees. Although females accounted for a disproportionate amount for many of the absence types (relative to the breakdown of police officers by sex), maternity or paternity leave, and career breaks were, as expected, the 2 categories in which females accounted for the majority of absences (table 9.1).

Table 9.1: Proportion of long-term absence by sex, as at 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Absence type	Proportion (%) Female	Proportion (%) Male
Sickness	41.3	58.7
Maternity or Paternity	98.2	1.8
Career break	51.1	48.9
Suspended	9.7	90.3
Other	25.8	74.2
All long-term absence (excluding maternity and paternity)	37.8	62.2
All long-term absence	52.3	47.7
All police officers	35.4	64.6

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: absence open data tables’ and Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: workforce open data tables’

Notes:

1. Excludes British Transport Police.
2. ‘Other’ leave includes compassionate leave, study leave and special leave.

9.3 Other worker types on long-term absence

Data on other worker types (including staff, designated officers and PCSOs) on long-term absence has been published for the first time as at 31 March 2024.

Police staff including designated officers

As at 31 March 2024, there were 2,911 FTE police staff (including designated officers) on long-term absence (for all reasons) in the 43 forces in England and Wales. This equates to 3.6% of all staff in post.

Figure 9.2 shows of staff on long-term absence, 1,574 (54%) were on sick leave, 1,031 (35%) were on maternity or paternity leave, 185 (6%) were on career breaks, and 96 (3%) were suspended. The remaining 26 (1%) were on ‘other leave’ (which includes compassionate leave, study leave, and special leave).

Figure 9.2: Number of staff (FTE) on long-term absence broken down by absence type and sex, as at 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: absence open data tables’

Notes:

1. In order to be classed as long-term, an individual must be absent for more than 28 calendar days.
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

PCSOs

As at 31 March 2024, there were 335 FTE PCSOs on long-term absence (for all reasons) in the 43 forces in England and Wales. This equates to 4.4% of all PCSOs in post.

Figure 9.3 shows of PCSOs on long-term absence, 187 (56%) were on sick leave, 77 (23%) were on maternity or paternity leave, 24 (7%) were on career breaks, and 43 (13%) were suspended. The remaining 4 (1%) were on ‘other leave’ (which includes compassionate leave, study leave and special leave).

Figure 9.3: Number of PCSOs (FTE) on long-term absence broken down by absence type and sex, as at 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: absence open data tables’

Notes:

1. In order to be classed as long-term, an individual must be absent for more than 28 calendar days.
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

9.4 Police officers on long-term sickness

Long-term sickness includes any recognised medical condition, physical or psychological, as reported by the officer or a medical practitioner, which has lasted for more than 28 calendar days.

As at 31 March 2024, there were 3,055 FTE police officers on long-term sick leave in the 43 forces in England and Wales, equating to 2.1% of police officers in England and Wales on 31 March 2024, slightly higher than the rate in the previous year (1.7%).

Figure 9.4: Number of officers (FTE) on long-term sick leave, as at 31 March 2010 to 31 March 2024, England and Wales

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: limited duties open data tables’

Notes:

1. In order for sickness to be classed as long-term, an officer must be absent for more than 28 calendar days.
2. Excludes British Transport Police.

9.5 Police officers on long-term sickness: by rank

There was some variation in sickness levels across ranks, with officers at higher ranks generally having lower levels of sickness; 2.2% of constables were on long-term sick leave, compared with 1.3% of officers of superintendent rank or above. Sickness levels across each rank are higher compared with the previous year, particularly for superintendents and above (table 9.2).

Table 9.2: Proportion (%) of officers (FTE) on long-term sick leave, by rank, as at 31 March 2023 and 2024, England and Wales

Rank	2023	2024
Constable	1.8	2.2
Sergeant	1.5	1.7
Inspector	1.4	1.7
Chief inspector	1.3	1.9
Superintendent or above	0.4	1.3

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: absence open data tables’ and Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: workforce open data tables’

9.6 Police officers on long-term sickness: by sex

Sickness rates have been consistently higher among females than males with 2.4% of female officers on long-term sick leave, compared with 1.9% of male officers as at 31 March 2024.

Table 9.3: Proportion (%) of officers (FTE) on long-term sick leave, by sex, as at 31 March 2015 to 2024, England and Wales

As at:	Proportion (%) of female officers on sick leave	Proportion (%) of male officers on sick leave
31-Mar-15	2.4	1.4
31-Mar-16	2.5	1.7
31-Mar-17	2.5	1.7
31-Mar-18	2.5	1.7
31-Mar-19	2.4	1.7
31-Mar-20	2.6	1.7
31-Mar-21	1.7	1.3
31-Mar-22	2.0	1.6
31-Mar-23	2.1	1.5
31-Mar-24	2.4	1.9

Source: Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: absence open data tables’ and Home Office, ‘Police workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024: workforce open data tables’

9.7 Other worker types on long-term sickness

As at 31 March 2024, there were 1,574 FTE police staff (including designated officers) and 187 FTE PCSOs on long-term sick leave in the 43 forces in England and Wales, equating to 1.9% of staff and 2.5% of PCSOs respectively in England and Wales on 31 March 2024.

10. Limited duties

Key findings

• data from 41 forces (excluding Avon and Somerset and Lancashire who could not provide data) shows that as at 31 March 2024, there were 5,121 police officers (headcount) on recuperative duties, equivalent to 3.6% of officers in these forces
• data from 42 forces (excluding Avon and Somerset who could not provide data) shows there were 9,008 police officers (headcount) on adjusted duties, equivalent to 6.2% of officers in these forces

10.1 Introduction

This chapter provides information on the number of police officers on recuperative and adjusted duties as at 31 March each year. Data is presented on a headcount basis and is broken down by sex.

Definitions of recuperative and adjusted duties are provided below.

Recuperative duty: Duties falling short of full deployment, undertaken by a police officer following an injury, accident, illness, or medical incident, during which the officer adapts to and prepares for a return to full duties and the full hours for which they are paid, and is assessed to determine whether he or she is capable of making such a return.

Adjusted duty: Duties falling short of full deployment, in respect of which workplace adjustments (including reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010) have been made to overcome barriers to working. For an officer to be placed on adjusted duties, they must be attending work on a regular basis and be working for the full number of hours for which they are paid (in either a full time or part time substantive role).

The accuracy of recuperative and adjusted duties data depends on how accurately forces record and maintain this information on their HR systems. Forces may not keep records up to date, particularly for recuperative duties, which tend to be a short-term measure.

The way in which forces interpret the definition of recuperative and adjusted duties can vary; this may affect the consistency of the figures over time and between forces depending on when and who makes this judgement. Comparisons between years and forces should be done with caution.

Data by police force area, as at 31 March 2024, can be found in the accompanying data tables. Data on recuperative and adjusted duties each year, as at 31 March, from 2015 onwards, and broken down by police force area and sex can be found in the accompanying ‘limited duties’ open data table.

10.2 Police officers on recuperative and adjusted duties

Data from 41 forces (excluding Avon and Somerset and Lancashire who could not provide data) shows that as at 31 March 2024, there were 5,121 police officers (headcount) on recuperative duties, equivalent to 3.6% of officers in these forces.

Data from 42 forces (excluding Avon and Somerset who could not provide data) shows there were 9,008 police officers (headcount) on adjusted duties, equivalent to 6.2% of officers in these forces.

Of female officers in England and Wales, 4.7% were on recuperative duties and 8.2% were on adjusted duties as at 31 March 2024 (based on 41 and 42 forces respectively). This was higher than the proportion of males on recuperative and adjusted duties, which were 3.0% and 5.0% respectively.

Annex A: Additional analysis of police officer numbers by protected characteristics

Introduction

The Home Office, the NPCC and the College of Policing have been collaborating in developing National Standards for Workforce Data. These data standards draw on existing harmonised standards set out by the Government Statistical Service and aim to bring more standardisation within policing for the collection of data on protected characteristics (and some other demographic information). The variables currently covered by the Standards are ethnicity, age, religion or belief, disability, sexual orientation, gender, sex, and gender reassignment. A full breakdown of the standards can be found in the user guide.

Information on their protected characteristics is self-reported by officers on police force HR systems. Recent changes to police force HR systems to align with the new data standards have allowed all staff the opportunity to review existing records and declare further information on protected characteristics. However, many officers are yet to update their HR records and, as such, data is not currently complete.

This annex includes information on the proportion of officers broken down by disability status, sexual orientation, and religious beliefs. Whilst relatively high proportions of officers had not recorded, or preferred not to declare, their disability status, sexual orientation, and religious beliefs (39%, 37% and 34% respectively as at 31 March 2024), the NPCC is working with police forces to encourage all staff to enter this information. We therefore expect the proportion of unknown to decrease in future releases.

Disability

As at 31 March 2024, of police officers (headcount) where the disability status was known, 9.2% declared they were disabled. The proportion of police officers with a disability is lower than the proportion in the general population; according to the ONS 2021 Census 17.8% of the population in England and Wales are disabled^{[footnote 9]}.

Table A1: Police officers by disability status, England and Wales, as at 31 March 2024

	% of all officers (headcount)
Known	60.8
of which: Yes	9.2
of which: No	90.8
Prefer not to say	1.7
Unknown	37.5

Sexual orientation

As at 31 March 2024, of police officers (headcount) where sexual orientation was known, 91.8% declared they were heterosexual or straight, 4.9% declared they were gay or lesbian, and 3.2% declared they were bisexual. The proportion of police officers that declared a sexual orientation of heterosexual or straight was lower than in the general population whilst the proportion of police officers that declared a sexual orientation other than heterosexual or straight was higher than in the general population. According to the ONS 2021 Census (excluding individuals who did not respond) 96.6% respondents in England and Wales declared they are heterosexual or straight, 1.7% as gay or lesbian and 1.4% as bisexual^{[footnote 10]}.

Table A2: Police officers by sexual orientation, England and Wales, as at 31 March 2024

	%of all officers (headcount)
Known	63.0
of which: Heterosexual or straight	91.8
of which: Gay or lesbian	4.9
of which: Bisexual	3.2
of which: Other sexual orientation	0.2
Prefer not to say	5.3
Unknown	31.7

Religious beliefs

As at 31 March 2024, of police officers (headcount) where their religious belief was known, 49.3% declared they had no religion – higher than the proportion in the general population; according to the ONS 2021 Census 39.6% of the population in England and Wales have no religion. A further 43.4% of officers declared they were Christian – slightly below the proportion in the general population; according to the ONS 2021 Census 49.1% of the population in England and Wales are Christian^{[footnote 11]}.

Table A3: Police officers by religious beliefs, England and Wales, as at 31 March 2024

	% of all officers (headcount)
Known	66.0
of which: Christian	43.4
of which: Muslim	2.5
of which: Sikh	0.8
of which: Hindu	0.4
of which: Buddhist	0.3
of which: Jewish	0.3
of which: Pagan	0.1
of which: Any other religion or belief	2.9
of which: No religion	49.3
Prefer not to say	4.9
Unknown	29.1

Annex B: Police officer assaults

Key findings

• in the year ending March 2024, 45,907 offences of assaults on police officers were recorded by the police in England and Wales (including British Transport)

Of which:

• 34,428 were “assault without injury on a constable” offences, an increase of 15.5% compared with 29,809 recorded in the previous year
• 11,479 were “assault with injury on a constable”^{[footnote 12]} offences, an increase of 8.4% compared with 10,594 recorded in the previous year

Introduction

The data source for assaults on police officers is the police recorded crime series, which are published quarterly in “Crime in England and Wales”, released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This annex is updated on an annual basis only, so the crime statistics should be used to access data on a quarterly basis.

Prior to the introduction of the crime classification “assault with injury on a constable” in April 2017, it was only possible to identify assaults on police officers that did not result in injury from the crime statistics. Assaults that resulted in injury were recorded under the relevant offence classification, such as “violence with injury”. A new crime classification for “assault with injury on a constable” was introduced on the 1 April 2017, and this is the seventh year for which such data is available.

Previously, the Home Office used a combination of self-reported assaults data held within police forces’ Human Resource (HR) or health and safety systems and police recorded crime data of “assault without injury on a constable” to estimate the total number of assaults. Since the introduction of the crime classification “assault with injury on a constable”, data from forces’ health and safety systems are no longer required.

There are some differences between what is recorded on the health and safety systems, and what is recorded as a crime. In particular, the crime classification of “assault with injury on a constable” will exclude cases of more serious assaults. This is because, in line with the Home Office Counting Rules for recorded crime, the assault will be recorded under a more serious crime classification, such as “attempted murder”, from which it is not possible to separately identify assaults on police officers.

Police recorded crime data

Figure B1 shows the time series trend for assault with and without injury on a constable offences.

Between the years ending March 2007 and March 2010 there had been a general downward trend in the number of offences of “assault without injury on a constable” recorded by the police. The number of offences recorded by the police then remained stable until the year ending March 2015, when the number of offences increased by 8%, from 14,369 in the year ending March 2015 to 15,512 offences in the year ending March 2016 (a smaller increase than the 26% over the same period for victims of the offence of “assault without injury” not against a constable).

Between the years ending March 2015 and March 2022, there was an upward trend in the number of offences of “assault without injury on a constable” recorded by the police; increasing from 14,369 offences recorded in the year ending March 2015 to 30,016 offences recorded in the year ending March 2022. In the year ending March 2023 number of offences of “assault without injury on a constable” recorded by the police dropped slightly, to 29,809 offences, a 0.7% decreased compared to the previous year.

In the most recent year, ending March 2024, 34,428 offences of “assault without injury on a constable” were recorded by the police, a 15.5% increase compared with the previous year, when 29,809 offences were recorded. This compares to a decrease of 1.9% over the same period for “assault without injury” (not against a constable) offences.

Since April 2017 when the “assault with injury on a constable” offence was introduced, there has been a stable number of offences recorded in each financial year. There were 7,989 offences recorded in the year ending March 2018, the lowest number of offences recorded in a financial year since the offence was introduced; this may in part be due to crime recording whilst the new offence was being embedded. In the latest year, ending March 2024, there were 11,479 “assault with injury on a constable” offences were recorded by the police, an 8.4% increase compared to the previous year when 10,594 offences were recorded.

Figure B1: Number of police recorded assault with and without injury on a constable offences, England and Wales, years ending March 2007 to March 2024

Source: ONS, Crime in England and Wales

Notes:

1. A new crime classification for “assault with injury on a constable” was introduced on the 1 April 2017.
2. Includes the British Transport Police.

Table B1 shows assault with and without injury on a constable offences, in the year ending March 2024, by Police Force Area.

Table B1: Police recorded crimes of assaults on police officers, England and Wales, year ending March 2024

Force name	Assault with injury on a constable	Assault without injury on a constable	Total assaults on a constable (with and without injury)
Avon and Somerset	434	1,409	1,843
Bedfordshire	73	389	462
British Transport Police	249	883	1,132
Cambridgeshire	57	491	548
Cheshire	269	630	899
Cleveland	143	641	784
Cumbria	110	444	554
Derbyshire	233	621	854
Devon and Cornwall	38	968	1,006
Dorset	65	361	426
Durham	98	568	666
Dyfed-Powys	25	218	243
Essex	244	1,264	1,508
Gloucestershire	93	25	118
Greater Manchester	77	1,784	1,861
Gwent	153	348	501
Hampshire and Isle of Wight	284	1,152	1,436
Hertfordshire	223	630	853
Humberside	191	724	915
Kent	204	1,219	1,423
Lancashire	260	767	1,027
Leicestershire	218	710	928
Lincolnshire	104	344	448
London, City of	28	63	91
Merseyside	281	762	1,043
Metropolitan Police	2,758	3,798	6,556
Norfolk	179	719	898
North Wales	171	330	501
North Yorkshire	130	463	593
Northamptonshire	144	553	697
Northumbria	172	681	853
Nottinghamshire	199	446	645
South Wales	255	657	912
South Yorkshire	276	635	911
Staffordshire	366	572	938
Suffolk	122	374	496
Surrey	193	672	865
Sussex	257	1,270	1,527
Thames Valley	236	1,224	1,460
Warwickshire	82	203	285
West Mercia	205	514	719
West Midlands	953	1,756	2,709
West Yorkshire	508	1,820	2,328
Wiltshire	119	326	445
England and Wales (including BTP)	11,479	34,428	45,907

Source: ONS, Crime in England and Wales

Data quality

It is thought that this data is likely to be an underestimate of the total number of assaults against constables in some forces, as many officers view assaults as part of the job and do not raise a crime record. A further limitation of the data is that it is not always possible for forces to identify whether the police officer was on or off duty at the time of the assault. For these reasons, the figures in Annex B are not directly comparable at police force area level.

Police recorded crime data on assaults is not labelled Accredited Official Statistics, due to their known limitations. The data is not thought to provide a complete picture of assaults against police officers and there are a number of comparability issues across forces, as described above.

Despite the limitations, improvements to recording processes and practices by the police, expansions of the recorded crime collection to include new offences, variations in police activity, more victims reporting crime, and genuine increases in some types of crime, have each made substantial contributions to rises in total police recorded crimes over recent years. This effect has been more pronounced for some crime types such as violence. Although more recent small falls or flattening trends could suggest that improvements in recording practices are beginning to have less impact for some offences.

1. Designated officers are police staff (who are not police officers) employed to exercise specific powers that would otherwise only be available to police officers. Some forces are unable to distinguish designated officers from police staff, therefore, they have been combined to better reflect the situation across all forces. These workers can be separately identified in the open data tables. ↩

2. The paid workforce includes police officers, staff, designated officers and PCSOs and excludes traffic wardens which were employed by police forces up to the year ending March 2020. Prior to year ending March 2020 there were small numbers of traffic wardens employed by the police service reflecting the dominant role of local authorities in parking control. ↩

3. NCA officers include both those warranted with the powers of a police constable or other powers, as well as civilians involved in the investigation of serious and organised crime (non-warranted officers). ↩

4. Secondments to central services are secondments to central government, for example, the Home Office, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS), or the NCA. ↩

5. NCA officers include both those warranted with the powers of a police constable or other powers, as well as civilians involved in the investigation of serious and organised crime (non-warranted officers). ↩

6. Secondments to central services are secondments to central government, for example, the Home Office, HMICFRS, or the NCA. ↩

7. Where the sex of an individual is not stated but the gender was, gender has been used. ↩

8. Population data from the 2021 Census, based on whole population. Data is available on the ONS website. ↩

9. ONS, Disability, England and Wales: Census 2021 ↩

10. Sexual orientation, England and Wales: Census 2021 ↩

11. Religion, England and Wales: Census 2021 ↩

12. The crime code of “assault with injury on a constable” was introduced in April 2017. Previously there was no corresponding crime classification for “assault with injury on a constable”, with such assaults recorded under the relevant offence classification, such as “violence with injury”. ↩