Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the number of police officers that are restricted from active duty due to (a) physical and (b) psychological injury; and if she will make an estimate of the average period of time that officers have been on (i) long-term sick leave and (ii) restricted duties in each of the last five years.

The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the number of police officers on recuperative duties (duties falling short of full deployment, undertaken by a police officer following an injury, accident, illness or medical incident), and those on long-term sick absence (that have lasted for more than 28 calendar days), as at 31 March each year in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.

Information on long-term sick absences each year as at 31 March 2007 to 2024, can be found in the ‘Absences Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/64ba613a2059dc00125d2782/open-data-table-police-workforce-absence-260723.ods.

Information on the number of police officers on recuperative duties each year as at 31 March 2016 to 2024, can be found in the ‘Limited Duties Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/669fb849a3c2a28abb50d546/open-data-table-police-workforce-limited-duties-240724.ods.

The Home Office does not collect data on the specific length of time a police officer has been on long-term absence or recuperative duties.

The Home Office does not collect data on the reason for recuperative duties. As such it is not possible to separately determine the number of police officers on restrictive duties due to physical and psychological injury.