Police numbers are at lowest for 11 years – Home Office

POLICE officer numbers in England and Wales have fallen to their lowest level in 11 years – falling by 4,000 in the past year.

In Essex Police, officer numbers have dropped to 3,331 down 77 over the past six months and 165 in 12 months.

Officers in the 43 forces stood at 131,837 at the end of September 2012, revealing a drop of more than 4,000 in a year – newly released figures show.

Surrey Police was the only force in England and Wales where police officer numbers went up over the last 12 months.

Numbers of civilian support staff, community support officers and volunteer police constables also fell.

In Essex Police, staff numbers were also down to 1,642, a fall of 122 over 12 months.

Steve Williams, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: “British police officers are regarded as the finest in the world.

“The latest force strength figures highlight that not only does Britain have the lowest number of police officers in over a decade, but that while this number has been reducing, the population has been increasing – making the gap in policing per population head even wider.”

“The government must question whether a reduced police service that operates only on a cost basis is what the public expects.”