Row over reduction in number of police

THE lowest number of police officers are safeguarding England and Wales since records began, figures reveal.

Their ranks fell from 123,142 on March 31, 201 to 122,404 at the end of March this year, the Home Office said.

The figure is the lowest number since 1981 – although figures before 1996 are not directly comparable. There are also more than 10,000 police community support officers — who have restricted powers.

Their number fell 1 per cent, while volunteer special constables dropped 13 per cent. Police staff and designated officers increased slightly by 3 per cent.

Meanwhile, police officers in frontline roles have fallen to 103,83 . The Government was criticised earlier this year after failing to mention police numbers in a strategy setting out plans to tackle rising violence. Ministers insist there is no direct link between officer numbers and the effectiveness of forces at tackling crime.

However, the Police Federation union said the figures showed the police needed an urgent cash injection.

Vice chairman Che Donald said: ‘These new figures are proof, as if we even needed it, that policing in the UK is on the critical list. The figures show we have lost more than 21,300 officers since 2010 – that’s a drop of 15 per cent and the numbers keep going down every year. It’s like Groundhog Day.’

In the early 2000s, officer numbers soared as the New Labour government pumped cash into budgets.

When the Toires came back to power, the public sector faced cuts in a bid to balance the books after the global financial crash. Police chiefs axed tens of thousands of civilian staff. But the number of constables also fell as they left and were not replaced.