Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what was the total number of serving police officers in each year since 2019.

The Home Office collects and publishes information on the size and composition of the police workforce, including officer numbers and leavers, in England and Wales, broken down by Police Force Area (PFA), annually 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

Data on the number of police officers in the police service, as at 31 March in each year from 2007 to 2023, can be found in the ‘Police Workforce Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1172892/open-data-table-police-workforce-260723.ods

This data is available on both a full-time equivalent (FTE) and headcount basis and includes officers seconded into forces as well as officers on career breaks or parental leave.

Table 1 below shows the number of police officers employed in the England in Wales, by year, in both headcount and full-time equivalent (FTE) terms.

Table 1: Police officer numbers, by year, England and Wales

Data on the number of police officers leaving the police service, in the years ending 31 March 2007 to 2023, can be found in the ‘Leavers Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1172932/open-data-table-police-workforce-leavers-260723.ods

The table 2 below shows the number of police officers leavers (excluding transfers between forces) in the England in Wales, by year, in FTE terms.

Table 2: Police officer leavers (excluding transfers) by year, England and Wales