Labour: Tory spin on police numbers exposed as proportion of officers on the frontline lowest in a decade

Thursday, 29 July 2021 13:54

Labour analysis of latest statistics reveal there are still huge gaps in police workforce, with 8,433 fewer officers, 7,633 fewer PCSOs, and 7,502 fewer police staff than in 2010. Over 10,000 officers and PCSOs have been lost from neighbourhood policing since 2015, while the proportion of frontline officers is at its lowest level in a decade. Sarah Jones MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Policing and the Fire Service, said: “The Tories have spent a decade cutting our...Request free trial

Labour analysis of latest statistics reveal there are still huge gaps in police workforce, with 8,433 fewer officers, 7,633 fewer PCSOs, and 7,502 fewer police staff than in 2010.

Over 10,000 officers and PCSOs have been lost from neighbourhood policing since 2015, while the proportion of frontline officers is at its lowest level in a decade.

Sarah Jones MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Policing and the Fire Service, said:

“The Tories have spent a decade cutting our police workforce, leaving communities across the country exposed.

“These figures expose the decimation the Tories have caused community policing. While cuts to police staff mean that even new police recruits will end up behind desks backfilling staff roles, instead of on the beat.

“The Government’s new crime plan is in reality a bunch of rehashed policies designed to distract from the damage they have caused. When coupled with an insulting police pay freeze and failure to consult them on the crime plan, it’s no wonder frontline police have lost confidence in the Home Secretary.”

Ends

Notes to editor:

Gaps in workforce

Despite recent recruitment, there are still 8,433 fewer officers than in 2010, while PCSO and staff numbers are both down by over 7,000.

	Total police workforce	Officers	Police staff	PCSOs	Special constable
31-Mar-10	244,497	143,734	83,436	16,918	15,505
31-Mar-11	233,255	139,110	78,074	15,820	18,421
31-Mar-12	220,121	134,100	71,592	14,393	20,343
31-Mar-13	213,632	129,584	69,822	14,205	19,011
31-Mar-14	209,362	127,909	68,370	13,066	17,764
31-Mar-15	207,728	127,192	68,147	12,370	16,074
31-Mar-16	200,922	124,066	65,797	11,043	15,996
31-Mar-17	198,686	123,142	65,319	10,213	13,502
31-Mar-18	199,753	122,405	67,200	10,139	11,690
31-Mar-19	202,039	123,189	69,302	9,547	10,642
31-Mar-20	210,689	129,110	72,331	9,248	9,571
31-Mar-21	220,519	135,301	75,934	9,284	9,174
Net change 2010-2021	-23,978	-8,433	-7,502	-7,633	-6,331
%	-10	-6	-9	-45	-41

Home Office, Police Workforce Mar ’21, 28 July 2021, Table H3

Neighbourhood policing eroded

In 2015, the Tories accused officers who were raising concerns about neighbourhood policing of “scaremongering”.^[1]

However, in March 2021 there were over 10,000 fewer officers and PCSOs in neighbourhood policing roles than in 2014-15.

Neighbourhood policing	YE Mar 15	YE Mar 21	Net change	%
Officers	23,928	16,577	-7,351	-31
PCSOs	11,251	7,977	-3,274	-29
Total	35,178	24,553	-10,625	-30

Home Office, Police Workforce Mar ’21, 28 July 2021, Tables F1, 2, and 3

Frontline policing bears the brunt of Tory cuts

In 2010, the Tories claimed that “it is possible for the police to make significant reductions in their budgets without affecting frontline policing”.^[2]

In 2015, they said that “the last five years have shown that it is possible to do more with less – crime has fallen, the frontline service has been protected ”.^[3]

That year Boris Johnson also said it was ‘essential’ that frontline officer numbers were kept high.

“As I have said before - and you have heard me say this many times now - there is an important political consideration, which is the numbers of frontline officers. Indeed, it is essential to keep that number high.”

Boris Johnson, MQT, 25 March 2015, https://www.london.gov.uk/questions/2015/0912

However, the latest workforce statistics reveal there are 9,700 fewer frontline officers than in 2010 and the proportion of officers on frontline is at its the lowest since 2011.

	No. of frontline officers	Proportion (%)
Mar-10	123,384	91.0
Mar-11	119,729	91.3
Mar-12	116,122	92.0
Mar-13	113,009	92.6
Mar-14	111,383	93.3
Mar-15	110,853	93.4
Mar-16	106,411	93.4
Mar-17	105,502	93.3
Mar-18	103,837	92.2
Mar-19	103,347	92.1
Mar-20	108,856	92.4
Mar-21	113,645	91.6

Net change	-9,739

Home Office, Police Workforce Mar ’21, 28 July 2021, Tables F5