Police workforce, England and Wales: 30 September 2024

Product Description

This release is a mid-year update of the Police workforce, England and Wales publication series. It contains statistics on the number of police officers, police staff and designated officers, police community support officers (PCSOs), special constables and police support volunteers (PSVs) in post on 30 September 2024. The statistics cover the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales. Data from the British Transport Police (BTP) and the National Crime Agency (NCA) is provided in the accompanying data tables, though their figures are largely excluded from analysis within this report and do not count towards the England and Wales total (which relates to the 43 territorial forces only).

Unless otherwise stated, total workforce figures quoted in the bulletin include those on career breaks or other forms of long-term absence, as well as those seconded into police forces from other forces or central services (for example, the Home Office and the NCA). It excludes those seconded out from forces to central services. The headline workforce figures in this release are all presented on a full-time equivalent (FTE) basis unless indicated otherwise. The accompanying data tables provide the same information on a headcount basis.

This release provides additional information on the number of police officers in post in each month from March to September 2024, on a headcount basis, in Annex A. Data has been provided to the Home Office by the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC). The data is therefore management information, and is not classed as Accredited Official Statistics, nor has it undergone the same quality assurance checks as the statistics in the main release. This is a one-off release of data and provides information on the number of police officers when the new Government took office in July 2024, given the standard reporting dates (of March and September) do not align with the date of the change in administration. Future releases will continue as bi-annual updates (as at March and September).