Police service strength

Data from the Home Office, Scottish Government, and Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) shows us how large the police workforce is. It also indicates how diverse forces are, including breakdowns by sex and ethnicity.

This briefing breaks down data by police force area where possible and includes international comparisons where available.

United Kingdom

Total police officer strength decreased from 2010 to 2018 but has since been increasing. On 31 March 2024 there were 170,500 full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers in the United Kingdom. This was a 10% increase from the number of police officers operating in 2003, when these figures were first recorded by the Home Office, but a 0.7% fall from the peak number of officers in 2010. 

Sources: Home Office, Police Workforce: England and Wales (various editions); Scottish Government, Police Officer Quarterly Strength Statistics, (various editions); Police Service of Northern Ireland, Strength of Police Service Statistics (various editions), figure for police officer strength in Northern Ireland as at 1 April 2024 provided to the House of Commons Library by PSNI on request.

England and Wales

Statistics on the police force of England and Wales were published on the 31 March 2024 by the Home Office.

On 31 March 2024 there were 147,746 FTE officers in England and Wales, including long-term absentees. This was an increase of 0.2% from the previous year. Since 31 March 2010, police officer risen has fallen by 3%.

All 43 police forces except for Derbyshire, Devon & Cornwall, Durham, Kent, Leicestershire, City of London and Metropolitan Police, Norfolk and Northamptonshire had an increase in officer numbers in the year leading up to 31 March 2024. Wiltshire had the largest officer increases, of around 5.8%. West Yorkshire reported the smallest increase of less than 0.1%.

The police force areas with the highest number of police officers per 100,000 people were London, Merseyside, and Greater Manchester. The police force areas with the fewest officers per 100,000 people were Hampshire, Wiltshire, and Lincolnshire.

Of the 147,746 police officers in England and Wales, 35% were female. This is the second highest proportion of female officers recorded since 2010. As of 31 March 2024, 12,000 (8%) police officers declared themselves as being from a minority ethnic group, this figure has been increasing year-on-year since 2010. This is considerably lower than the proportion of the general population of England and Wales from a minority ethnic group, 18.3%.

The total police workforce was 236,588 personnel, of which, 72% were police officers and the remaining 28% were support staff, designated officers and Police Community Support Officers.

Scotland

Data for the year ending 31 March 2024 show there were 16,356 FTE police officers in Scotland. This was 2% lower than the previous year and 7% lower than the peak number of officers in 2013.

The most recent information on police diversity in Scotland comes from the Police Scotland Equality and Diversity Mainstreaming & Outcomes Progress Report 2021 which uses information for the end of March 2020.

According to the report, 32% of police officers in Scotland were female in March 2020, which was a 1 percentage point increase from 2019.

In the same period, 1.5% of police officers reported that they were from a minority ethnic group. This figure has remained close to 1% since 2010. Of the overall Scottish population, 4% identified as being from a minority ethnic group.

Northern Ireland

Data on the strength of the police force is published by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

On 1 April 2024 there were 6,396 FTE police officers in Northern Ireland. This was a 12.5% decrease on 31 December 2010, and a 25% decrease compared with 1999 when police officer strength was at its peak. 

On 1 April 2024, women made up 32% of full-time regular police officers in Northern Ireland, no change on the previous year. Since 2010, the number of female police officers has increased by 20%.

Since 2010, the proportion of full-time regular police officers identifying from minority ethnic groups has consistently been below 1% but has been increasing each year. On 1 September 2022 this proportion was 0.6%. According to the Office for National Statistics, 3.4% of the general Northern Ireland population are from minority ethnic groups.

In April 2024, 66% of police officers considered themselves to be Protestant, 33% Roman Catholic, and 1% did not consider themselves either.

As of 1 December 2023, in addition to police officers, there were 2,344 FTE police staff in the Police Service of Northern Ireland, including temporary workers.

British Transport Police

On 31 March 2024 there were 2,910 FTE police officers employed by the British Transport Police.

International comparisons

Eurostat publishes data on police officer strength for multiple countries. The most recent data is from 2022 which is available for 32 nations, and does not include the UK, data for which has been taken from official sources. Of these, England and Wales ranked 29th for the number of police officers per 100,000 head of population. Northern Ireland was ranked 16th and Scotland 23nd.

However, it is important to note that countries may have different definitions of what constitutes a police officer, as well as methods of reporting. These differences may influence, or account for, the variation in results.