There are more police officers in England and Wales than ever
before, new figures published by the government today confirm.
The government has delivered on its 2019 manifesto commitment to
recruit 20,000 additional police officers by March 2023. This
brings the total number to nearly 150,000 officers, more than
3,500 higher than the previous peak in 2010.
Police forces are now more representative of the diverse
communities they serve, with over 53,000 female officers (35.5%)
and over 12,000 (8.3%) from an ethnic minority background – both
also at record highs. Whilst there is more progress to be made,
thanks to the Police Uplift Programme there has been a 43%
increase in the number of ethnic minority officers in England and
Wales since the start of the recruitment drive.
Prime Minister, said:
When I stood at the steps of Downing Street six months ago, I
made clear that I will do whatever it takes to build a better
future for everyone in the UK, with stronger communities and
safer streets.
At the heart of that pledge is recruiting more police officers
than at any time in our history, and today we have delivered on
that promise.
Thousands of officers are already out in our communities,
tackling crime and keeping the public safe.
Home Secretary, said:
This is an historic moment for our country. We have delivered on
the promise we made to the British people which means more police
on the beat preventing violence, solving burglaries and cracking
down on antisocial behaviour.
These new officers are changing the face of policing. They are
more representative of the communities they serve and this offers
a unique chance to deliver the highest standards and common sense
policing expected by the public.
Crime and Policing Minister, said:
Not only are we putting more police officers on the streets, we
are making sure they have the tools they need to fight crime –
and holding them to account to deliver.
Overall crime, excluding fraud and computer misuse, has halved
since 2010 and I thank all the police officers who have
contributed to this effort, and welcome those who are going to
drive this down even further.
Gavin Stephens, Chair of National Police Chiefs’ Council said:
It is an incredible achievement to have recruited more than
46,000 officers, giving us more than 20,000 additional officers
over the last three years. These additional police officers are
much welcomed, bringing a breadth of experience, skills and
diversity to their communities.
Those that joined at the start of the programme are now
completing training and making a difference every day in forces
across England and Wales. It fills me with optimism that so
many talented colleagues have joined with a real desire to keep
their communities safe and feeling safe.
This landmark recruitment drive is a core part of this
government’s commitment to drive down crime. Progress is being
made, with crime falling in England and Wales by 50% since 2010,
excluding fraud and computer misuse. Since March 2020 theft has
reduced by 20%, homicides and knife crime by 8% and domestic
burglary by 30%.
Ninety thousand knives have been taken off our streets through
stop and search, surrender initiatives and other targeted police
action since 2019. Alongside our ‘Grip’ programme, which is
delivering more police patrols in streets and neighbourhoods most
affected by violence, violence reduction units have prevented
over 136,000 violence offences in their first three years of
operation, supporting 215,00 vulnerable young people in their
third year alone.
The County Lines Programme has also seen police shut down more
than 3,500 county lines since November 2019, making more than
10,000 arrests and referring more than 5,700 people for
safeguarding.
Since 2019, thousands of these additional officers have already
made positive impacts in their communities and boosted local
policing functions. There have been officers deployed to
protective services for child abuse, sexual assault, violence
against women and girls and community safety teams, making a
visible impact on policing in our neighbourhoods and greater
support for victims.
But the government also recognises that more must more progress
must be made. The Home Office recently announced changes to crime
recording, reducing paperwork burdens that the NPCC estimate
could free up a potential 443,000 hours of police time a year. We
are also working with partners to make sure police only attend
mental health incidents they need to, such as where there is a
risk of serious harm or criminality, so time and resources are
focused on policing.
Police time and resources are vital to protecting the public and
safeguarding victims, and with thousands of hours saved and an
additional 20,000 police officers, police in England and Wales
are getting the vital support they need to keep this country
safe.