Longer history: Year ending March 1996 to Year ending March 2026
Joins Police officers (full-time equivalent, excluding long-term absence) to the current series. The line is broken where the publisher changed method; the two sides are not directly comparable.
Published valueProvisional or revisedLatestOne point a year is drawn; the source publishes overlapping year-ending figures, and every one is in the history table and CSVShaded bands: governments (see labels)Hover or use arrow keys to read a value
The number of full-time equivalent police officers in the 43 territorial forces of England and Wales as at 31 March, including officers on career breaks and parental leave and officers seconded in.
What this doesn’t measure
Special constables, police staff, PCSOs, British Transport Police, or officers seconded to central services; nor headcount.
Important caveat
Figures are full-time equivalents as at 31 March for the 43 territorial police forces of England and Wales, excluding British Transport Police, special constables, officers seconded out to central services and those working for police and crime commissioners, and including officers seconded in and officers on long-term absence such as parental leave or career breaks. The supplementary series excludes officers on career breaks or parental leave lasting more than 28 days, which was the basis of the figures published before 2003, and runs from 1996. Individual force figures are occasionally revised in the following year's publication.
Revision history
No period of this series has been revised since it was first ingested here. Revisions are recorded automatically when a later release publishes a different figure for the same period.
Change during each government, from the level inherited to the last complete period before it left office. Describes the period; does not attribute cause.