Overview

• Home Office figures show 426 officers were dismissed or had contracts terminated in the year to March, a 17% rise from the previous record.
• Full-time equivalent strength fell by 1,303 officers to 146,442, with 27 of 43 forces losing staff and the Metropolitan Police down 1,022 posts (3%).
• Voluntary resignations reached 4,806—the second-highest on record—while new recruit numbers dropped 17% to 7,874.
• Police chiefs warn of a projected £1.2 billion funding gap that threatens further cuts and undermines workforce stability.
• The government has committed to recruiting 13,000 additional neighbourhood officers by 2029, allocating £200 million to ensure 3,000 are in post by spring 2026.