Overview
- Home Office data published on Wednesday shows full-time equivalent officers down 1,318 year on year to 145,550 at the end of September 2025.
- The Metropolitan Police accounted for nearly all of the decline with 1,461 fewer officers, a 4.3% drop, while 24 forces increased headcount and 19 decreased.
- Police community support officers fell by more than 200 year on year and special constables dropped by 514, or 8.8%, to just over 5,300.
- A government white paper proposes reducing the number of forces into larger regional units and ending the officer maintenance grant to shift personnel into community roles.
- Ministers highlight £18.4 billion for policing next year, a ringfence for neighbourhood teams and a target to recruit 13,000 neighbourhood officers by 2029, as Conservative critics blame Labour and London’s mayor for the falls.