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Police finances are hanging by a thread, as forces deal with hugely increased demand and a shortage of officers on the frontline. As part of their Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, the government pledged to introduce 3,000 additional neighbourhood police officers and police community support officers earlier this year.
This is part of an initiative that will put 13,000 more officers, PCSOs and special constables into communities by 2029, which is an increase of over 50%. An injection of new officers and police staff may sound like a smart and logical solution but adding more officers as part of a large recruitment drive could end up being harmful to police financial sustainability in the long term.
As of 31 March 2025, the 43 police forces across England, Wales and British Transport Police employed 235,753 full-time equivalent (FTE) individuals – 146,442 of whom were police officers. This is a decrease of 0.2% on the previous year, driven by a 1% fall in police officers and 3% in PCSOs (down 3.3%), offset slightly by a small increase in police staff.
Recruiting new officers is extremely costly, particularly if they end up leaving policing after only serving a few years, which is an even bigger financial drain. Worse still are those that leave straight after completing their training – after resources, time and money have been spent providing them with the training and knowledge to plug the gaps.
According to His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS), one in five new officers leave the service in the first three years. The overall rate for leavers across all officers is 6.1%, showing that those new in service are more likely to leave.
While HMICFRS believes this may be down to new recruits simply realising policing isn’t for them, research from the University of Portsmouth suggests that cultural factors can play a part. The Police Federation have weighed in on this debate, positing pay as a major factor for higher attrition rates of new recruits.
Since 2019, there have been two large recruitment drives to increase the number of police officers across the country: the 2019 Police Uplift Programme (PUP) and the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. In 2019 Boris Johnson announced the Police Uplift Programme (PUP), which aimed to recruit 20,000 extra officers over three years. The aim was to restore police officer numbers after 21,000 were officers lost due to the years of austerity.
This was achieved, but the attrition rate for this cohort of officers was extremely high, which was costly and wasteful of scarce resources. Recruitment drives are a valid way of filling vacancies, but they may not attract individuals who want to stay for the long term. Many of those who joined as part of this drive were new to policing, which may be part of the reason why so many chose to leave.
We must remember that policing is a career that can lead to burnout and demands a high level of dedication, particularly for those out on the front line. It is crucial that those considering leaving are provided with an outlet to voice their concerns and support to remain in their role, if they feel they can. A good example of this is Greater Manchester Police’s ‘stay interview’, which allows officers considering leaving policing a chance to talk through their concerns and provide intervention, hopefully retaining the officer.
There will always be attrition of police officers due to retirements, transfers to other forces and dismissals. As with many public sector organisations, workforce planning has been key issue in policing, which forces and the National Police and Crime Commission are working on improving. In addition, it is difficult in the current climate, as young people now do not necessarily expect to hold one position for their entire career. There is more movement in the workforce, so forces need to react to this generational shift.
While it is clear more officers are needed, forces need to be careful to avoid the high attrition rates of previous recruitment drives. It is not just about hiring a wave of new officers to fulfil quotas; we need to focus on retaining officers in the long term and ensuring everything possible is being done to develop existing staff. With proper investment in meaningful retention strategies and workforce flexibility, we can build more financially resilient police forces across the country.
More insights into why police officers leave can be found in this episode of the For Every Response podcast, which was recorded live at The Emergency Services Show 2024:
