A quarter of England's police forces have fewer officers now than when Tories came into power, LBC analysis reveals

30 May 2024, 14:47 | Updated: 30 May 2024, 15:46

By Connor Hand

@Connor_HandLBC

More than a quarter of police forces in England have fewer police officers in their ranks than when the Conservatives came into power 14 years ago, new LBC analysis has revealed.

LBC obtained data from thirty forces across England through Freedom of Information requests, and found eight of them had experienced a decline in total officer numbers compared to May 2010.

Despite the Conservative Party delivering more than 20,000 recruits across England and Wales through the Police Uplift programme, and overall officer numbers having increased since their peak during the last Labour government, three of England’s five biggest police services are still operating with fewer bobbies on the beat.

West Midlands Police, England’s second largest force, which has the highest knife crime rate in the UK, has seen the most substantial cut to its numbers, losing more than 650 police in this period.

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Meanwhile, Greater Manchester Police, Merseyside, Avon and Somerset, Lancashire, Hampshire, Gloucestershire and Bedfordshire all reported lower officer numbers since the coalition government came into power.

Responding to LBC’s findings, Home Secretary James Cleverly said “we promised to put 20,000 extra police officers on the street, and we’ve put money where our mouth is. In many forces, there are more officers than ever before. London, under Labour, has spectacularly failed to recruit police officers and police numbers are going down.”

Although the Metropolitan Police faces a shortfall of 1,400 officers, according to Sir Mark Rowley, the force nonetheless has 800 more recruits on its books than in 2010.

Crime is set to be a key battleground ahead of the election on July 4th, with shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, today pledging to ‘take back the streets from thugs and thieves’ by employing an additional 13,000 police and community support officers.

For their part, the Conservatives point out that only a quarter of those recruits would be full-time officers with the power of arrest.

Policing minister Chris Philp criticised the policy, saying it “isn’t worth the paper it’s written on”.

Mr Philp added that the Conservatives have delivered “record police numbers” since making the Uplift Programme one of their cornerstone commitments during the 2019 election.

Whilst this claim is substantiated by Home Office data, LBC’s analysis shows there has been a considerable regional disparity in where those officers have been employed.

It comes as concerns grow about the rise in a host of serious crimes.

Indeed, over the last year, the Office for National Statistics recorded sharp increases in offences such as knife crime (up 7%), gun crime (9%), robberies (13%) and shoplifting (37%) across England and Wales.

Speaking to LBC, Dr Stuart Hyde, who served as Assistant Chief Constable at West Midlands Police, argued that officers are facing a "Wild West".

Mr Hyde said: "it's not all about cops. It's also about support staff - especially professional staff who help with tasks ranging from digital forensics to call handling.

"This government has defunded the police, left moral low and the next government must face up to the challenge. Policing is losing out on major investment in technology, leaving a Wild West for criminals."