The Home Office recently published their 2024 police workforce statistics for England and Wales. I did a mega Twitter/X thread on the highlights when it came out. So how many officers are there exactly in England and Wales? Answer: 147,746, which is around 300 more than last year.
But other questions arise: Has officer strength kept track with population growth? What about the rest of the UK and beyond? How fast are cops leaving the service? What experience do they have? How diverse is policing today? What about promotions and those at different ranks? Where are forces choosing to allocate their available resources?
I’ll answer these questions and more in this series of blogs on police officer numbers over the coming month. This is an informative piece for anyone interested in UK policing and The Republic of Ireland. But such information is especially relevant for those aspiring for Inspector promotion (or above) to gain a strategic perspective on wider police resourcing issues. For example, consider this practice promotion interview question or presentation scenario at Level 2 (or beyond!) of the CVF:
“How will you manage and prioritise your resources to deliver an efficient and effective service to the public?”
In this Part 1, we’ll start with the big picture looking at total officer numbers across all the UK countries, plus our nearest neighbours in Ireland (I also support Gardai with promotions using my tried and tested, internationally-applicable police leadership support). We’ll also assess the complete workforce picture focusing on England and Wales, where most UK cops reside and for which there are detailed statistics available.
Here’s an overview of some of the questions we’ll answer through this series:
- How many officers are there in the whole UK? Quick answer: 185,000.
- How many officers are in each country, and what about An Garda Síochána in Ireland?
- What’s happening to Police Staff, PCSOs and Specials in England and Wales forces?
- Are officer numbers keeping up with the fast-growing population?
- What proportion of officers now are female or from ethnic minorities?
- How much is the Met Police shrinking?
- What about promotions and officers at each rank?
- Where do Chief Officers choose to prioritise their officer resources?
This is the only place where you’ll find UK officer numbers drawn together in one convenient place. I hope you find it helpful, and if you’d like to contribute a coffee to my work on free policing and police leadership materials, please consider subscribing to my podcast.
2024 UK Total Police Officer Strength
The England and Wales workforce stats are generally last to be published in the UK. Now available though, we can see the full UK picture. The above gives a snapshot of how many police officers there are across the UK in Full Time Equivalent (FTE) strength. (Note the PSNI figures represent headcount [FTE unavailable annually], whereby FTE is around 150 less.)
I’ve separated the Met Police from the rest of England given their sheer size and recent interest given the reported ‘shrinking workforce’ there (see update later in this blog). Together with the Met, England forms nearly 140,000 of the 185,000 officer strength around the UK. There are now 16,536 officers policing Scotland and 8,076 among the Welsh forces. PSNI then completes the country-level picture, with 6,500 officers in Northern Ireland.
While the National Crime Agency and British Transport Police have seen growth of several hundred officers in recent years, Police Scotland and PSNI have experienced significant recent reductions with government funding issues. Overall this means there’s 1,000 fewer officers around the UK than I reported in 2023.
Comparing Officer Numbers across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland
So how have officer numbers across the UK forces changed over time?
Firstly, here’s the equalised rates against the population of the respective countries. I’ve included Garda strength in Ireland as a bonus comparison for our nearest neighbour. Indeed, my dedicated police promotion and leadership support has proven transferable to aspiring officers there, as it has in Australia and beyond. After all, great police leadership can be recognised globally.
One thing is striking from police forces across all regions: Officer strength has clearly not kept up with growing population. Policing is no exception to the pressures on public services faced by increasing populations.
The Uplift of recent years across England and Wales has partially recovered a dire situation. There’s now 244 officers per 100k people. Police Scotland is higher at 295, yet this is the lowest ever for Scotland, with declining officer numbers set against a growing population to police. PSNI have been reducing fast, with 100 officers per 100k people, less than it had in 2007.
For comparison, Garda officers in Ireland are proportionately now only just above that of England and Wales. To see how these officer numbers compare against countries further afield, see my blog earlier this year comparing UK vs international officer strength.
England and Wales Police Strength 2024
Let’s now explore England and Wales in some more depth, comparing the overall workforce while also taking a longer term view of officer strength.
The overall police strength in England and Wales in 2024 is 250,000 (counting officers, staff, PCSOs, Specials and volunteers). Officers make up 147,746 FTE of this total. Overall strength was 219,000 in 2018, just before Uplift began, with all the increase being officers and staff.
The following is how the Home Office summarise the police workforce going back to 2003 (although it doesn’t include Specials or volunteers):
As I reported last year, police officer numbers in England and Wales can be tracked back nearly 80 years! Here’s how officer numbers have changed against the population since 1946, the longest single record of police service strength you’ll find anywhere.
After decades of growth against a gradually growing population, officer numbers stabilised around the 120,000 mark in the 1980s and 1990s. The 20,000 growth spurt from 2000 to 2005 was short lived, declining again from 2011 to 2018. Then the ‘Uplift’ programme brought strength back over 140,000 and up to its current and new ‘high water mark’ of 147,746, or 244 officers per 100,000 population (as shown earlier).
The below graphic displays these year-on-year changes in officer strength, annotated to highlight the periods of investment and austerity…
Looking at the support staff, and with information available going back to 1997, the below chart focuses on the Police Staff strength. Now at 81,303 FTE, staff numbers have recovered quickly since the 2017 low of 65,319. That in turn followed a rollercoaster ride of staff strength ranging from around 53,000 between 1997-2001, then quickly peaking to 83,436 by 2011.
When it comes to Special Constables and civilian volunteers, there is a stark deterioration. Since the peak of over 20,000 in 2012, the decline since suggests forces have not been bothered with facilitating the Special Constabulary as a meaningful policing function any more. Special numbers now sit at a headcount of just 6,118. Volunteers have not been tracked for as many years, however those numbers too are gradually dwindling and now sit at 7,211 individuals.
The PCSO role was formed in 2002 as an important liaison between policing and communities. After peaking at a strength of nearly 17,000 FTE in 2010, numbers have steadily dwindled to their current historic low of just 7,500. No doubt the removal of the ring-fenced funding in 2013 had something to do with this, as Chief Officers then evidently chose to invest their financial resources into other roles.
Let’s now round up the other UK countries, before finishing up with an update to the focus on Met Police officer strength…
Police Scotland Officer Strength 2024
How many police officers are there in Scotland? The latest total in 2024 is now 16,356.
The above chart shows the longest available record of Police Scotland officer strength set against the population. While population has steadily increased, officer numbers were mostly stable between 2009 and 2021, seemingly unaffected by the formation of Police Scotland as a single entity in 2013.
However, there’s been a stark decline in officer strength since 2021, by over 1,000 cops. While 2007 and 2008 (the earliest figures Police Scotland publish) were marginally lower, the recent decline means Scotland has dipped under 300 officers per 100,000 population for the first time.
Officers report being ‘run-ragged’, with absence and overtime costing the force over £200 million in recent years. Clearly there are severe challenges facing policing in Scotland. If you’re an aspiring police promotion candidate in Scotland, you would do well to consider how you might positively contribute to a brighter future, along with the usual force-specific preparation I advise.
PSNI Officer Strength 2024
PSNI officer numbers can be tracked over time as headcount. As shown above, the long term trend has been a steady decline since a peak of 7,600 in 2007. PSNI headcount strength was below 6,500 at March 2024. The force doesn’t publish long-term FTE numbers, but as at July 2024, FTE stands at just 6,330 officers.
During this time, the population of Northern Ireland has grown by over 10%. This means the ‘per population’ measure of officer strength has dwindled faster than elsewhere. In 2007, PSNI had 430 officers per 100,000 population, but this has now dropped to 337.
A good piece of reading I’d recommend to PSNI officers aspiring to promotion to Inspector and above would be the regular Chief Constable Accountability Report. This lays out the kind of resourcing and other challenges PSNI faces, the force priorities, and performance. No doubt it will give clues to potential promotion interview questions and presentation scenarios!
An Garda Síochána Latest Officer Strength 2024
I reported in early 2024 some headline officer and staff numbers for Garda in Ireland, along with some of the challenges faced there (albeit with a slightly more favourable funding outlook than many UK counterparts). As at March 2024, officer strength in Garda currently stands at 14,059 FTE.
To complete the picture of UK and Ireland long term officer numbers, the below chart provides a more detailed history of annual Garda officer numbers, covering the last 30 years for context.
An Garda Síochána appear to have done a reasonable job keeping up with population growth, until around 2010 where officer numbers stagnated. This caused officers per 100k population to decline to this year’s level of 274.
For aspiring officers among the Gardai ranks, my Rank Success support is internationally tried and tested for successful promotion. Not just that, the leadership skills and CPD you’ll pick up from my toolkits and premium podcast also help you become more effective when in post. As a free pointer for those aspiring to the more strategic Inspector ranks and above, the Garda Commissioner’s monthly reports to the Police Authority are a good piece of focused reading to stay in tune with what’s important.
How Much is the Met Police Shrinking?
Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley was recently quoted as saying the Metropolitan Police [workforce] was shrinking and diminished budgets. I recently reported in depth upon the workforce in the Met Police, using the official Home Office stats. Now these have just been updated, the following provides an updated position on the important points to include 2024…
In short, the shrinkage in the paid workforce appears purely within the PC rank of police officers. There are now over 800 fewer PCs in the Met Police than there were in 2023.
Chief Officers also shrank for 2024 (now at 35, was 39 last year), whereas all other ranks were stable or saw increases. For example, there was an increase of over 200 Sergeants and Inspectors over the year, with these two ranks now totalling a strength of nearly 6,700 officers. The Superintendent strength is now at a record 235 officers.
Civilian staff strength also increased over the year, by nearly 600 FTE. An extra 164 PCSOs also helped slightly reverse the long term reduced investment in this important neighbourhood function. On the volunteering front, unfortunately both Specials and Volunteers continued their reductions and diminished to new record lows for 2024.
So what of those ‘diminished budgets’? Unfortunately, media outlets often convey opinions about budgets without doing any research to convey and disclose what those budgets actually are. As compiled by Statista, the below demonstrates trends in the budget allocated for policing in London.
According to the Mayor’s Office, the budget for 2024/25 (this year) is £4.7 billion, an additional £200 million on the previous year. These of course represent the budget in ‘cash terms’ not real terms, so the ‘dwindling budgets’ comment may well relate to gaps emerging given the increased amounts the force must pay in increased salaries for officers and such.
I hope you found this ‘stats corner’ piece interesting and useful. Use the comments or post on social media with your perspectives on police officer strength where you are. Until my next blog, check out my array of premium police promotion and leadership materials to drastically supercharge and accelerate your career ambitions.
Kind Regards, Steve
Seeking police promotion? Want to get a massive head start right now? Hit the ground running with your personal digital promotion toolkit, and/or my market-leading Police Promotion Masterclass. There’s nothing else like it to effectively prepare you for success in your leadership aspirations. You can also contact me to arrange more personal coaching support, or try my podcast for your ongoing police leadership CPD covering a range of fascinating subjects.
