POLICE officer numbers in England and Wales have fallen to their lowest level in 11 years \u2013 falling by 4,000 in the past year.<\/p>\n
In Essex Police, officer numbers have dropped to 3,331 down 77 over the past six months and 165 in 12 months.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
Surrey Police was the only force in England and Wales where police officer numbers went up over the last 12 months.<\/p>\n
Numbers of civilian support staff, community support officers and volunteer police constables also fell.<\/p>\n
In Essex Police, staff numbers were also down to 1,642, a fall of 122 over 12 months.<\/p>\n
Steve Williams, Chairman of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: \u201cBritish police officers are regarded as the finest in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe 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 \u2013 making the gap in policing per population head even wider.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government must question whether a reduced police service that operates only on a cost basis is what the public expects.\u201d<\/p>\n
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