Record number of police officers sacked amid drop in force numbers

South Wales Guardian

2 days ago

Latest Home Office data reveals 426 officers were dismissed or had their contracts terminated in the 12 months to March.
This is up 17% year on year from the previous record of 365 and more than double the number fired at the start of the decade, when 164 officers were dismissed in 2019/20.
In May, ministers tightened rules on standards in efforts to improve confidence in policing, including for officers who fail background checks and commit gross misconduct to be sacked.
The five largest forces in England and Wales together account for just more than half of all dismissals in 2024/25: the Metropolitan Police (151 dismissals, or 35% of the total), Greater Manchester (22, or 5%), West Midlands (15, or 4%), West Yorkshire (17, or 4%) and Thames Valley (14, or 3%).
Three other forces had more than 10 dismissals in 2024/25: Devon & Cornwall (15, or 4% of the total), Avon & Somerset (12, or 3%) and Merseyside (11, or 3%).
The latest 12-month period also saw 4,806 officers voluntarily leaving policing: the second-highest number since records began in 2006 and down slightly from the peak of 5,151 in 2023/24.
The figures come as forces have warned the Government that funding levels fall short to keep the existing workforce.
A total of 146,442 full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers were in post at the end of March 2025, down almost 1% from 147,745 at the same point last year, which was the highest in modern times.
Of the 43 police forces, the Metropolitan Police saw the largest drop of 1,022 FTE officers, down 3% from 34,315 to 33,293.
Last month, plans for an average 2.3% rise in police spending per year faced backlash from police leaders, who warned a projected £1.2 billion shortfall will continue to grow and leave forces facing further cuts.
Acting national chairwoman of the Police Federation, Tiff Lynch, had said: 'We will lose 10,000 experienced officers a year to resignation by the end of this spending review period, driven out by poor pay and unacceptable working conditions.'
Chairman of the National Police Chiefs' Council Gavin Stephens added that the amount 'falls far short' of what is needed to fund Government plans and to maintain the existing workforce.
Ministers have committed to recruiting 13,000 more neighbourhood policing officers by 2029, with 3,000 extra recruits to be in post by spring next year.
Meanwhile, the figures show there was a 17% decrease in the number of new recruits joining police forces, 7,874 excluding transfers, compared to 9,492 the year before.
This follows a 42% decrease in the year 2022/23, when 16,355 joined policing.
Reacting to the figures, the Conservatives said the falling police numbers were a 'devastating blow' to neighbourhoods dealing with rising crime and anti-social behaviour.
The figures cover the last three months of the former Conservative government, and the first nine months of Labour in power.
Shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: 'Labour has let down policing and has let down the public.
'We need police to catch criminals, respond to 999 calls, investigate crime and patrol our streets.
'Labour has massively increased our taxes, squandered the money, and now they're reducing police numbers. The public are less safe as a result of Labour's incompetence.'
A Home Office spokesperson said the Government is determined to re-build neighbourhood policing, and there will be an extra 3,000 officers and PCSOs in communities by March 2026 following a £200 million investment.
The spokesperson added: 'Officer numbers have been stable since last July despite falling between March and June 2024, however, the promising increase in neighbourhood policing shows that we are finally seeing more officers on our streets'.