Human Resources
Police Numbers
The police service in England and Wales has benefited from a period of sustained investment that has contributed to significant growth in capacity.
Increase in numbers
At the end of March the police service in England and Wales had a workforce of 233,322 which has increased by 50,300 since 1997. This included 140,230 police officer that have increased from 125,825 in 1997. Police officers are supported by Police Community Support Officers and police staff. There were 15,700 Police Community Support Officers in March 2008 and 77,900 police staff (police staff numbers have increased by 20,700 since March 1997).
Workforce modernisation is critical to how we deliver policing in the future. The National Policing Improvement Agency Programme will promote a more integrated model of staffing that maximises the potential that police staff can play in releasing officers for front line duties and improving efficiency. All police forces are already making greater use of police staff in operational support and corporate roles where the powers of a constable are not needed which releases police officers to concentrate on frontline duties.
It is for the Chief Constable of each police force area to decide how best to use the resources available to them when setting staffing levels.The workforce mix in each police force area is the product of the professional judgement made by each Chief Constable.The Home Office does not intervene in any way about the mix of staff that each police force has.
Special Constables
Special constables are volunteer police officers who give up at least 4 hours a week of their own time to police our streets. They have all the powers of a paid police officer. At the end of March 2008 there were 14,547 special constables in England and Wales, an increase of 526 since March 2007. The increase in their number has been the result of an intensive campaign by the Metropolitan Police Service to boost its special constable strength.
Neighbourhood Policing
Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) are a unique and valuable addition to the policing family. Since their introduction in 2002, their numbers have increased to nearly 16,000 and they are now not only an indispensable part of Neighbourhood Policing teams, but a vital part of their local community. There are now around 3,600 dedicated Neighbourhood Policing Teams in place across England and Wales consisting of over 29,000 Sergeants and Constables and Police Community Support Officers.
Read the March 2008 Home Office Bulletin on police strength (new window)and Supplementary Tables for BCU officer and PCSO figures as well as police staff figures in March 2008 (new window)
