Retention of police officers is vital to the service

29 January 2025

Urgent action is needed to address the numbers of officers leaving policing, says Derbyshire Police Federation chair Keith Chambers.

Keith said new Government figures that show 35 full-time equivalent officers (1.7 per cent) left Derbyshire Police in the year to September 2024.

The workforce statistics show that the rate of officers leaving increased in the six months to September 2024 with 26, or 1.2 per cent of officers leaving the Force.

The number of police officers in England and Wales fell by 0.6 per cent, a total of 878 officers, in the past six months.

Keith said: “When experienced officers leave they take with them a wealth of knowledge, experience, and leadership, they know the communities and the areas we police, and that gap is difficult to fill.

“There’s an increase in workload and pressure for remaining officers, and our members are already overworked and under considerable pressure.

Retention

“And then there’s the cost of recruiting and training new officers, which will only go to waste should they decide that a career in policing is not for them.

“All of which underline why the retention of officers is vital to the service we provide.”

Keith said that steps needed to be taken now to improve retention.

He said: “The Government could make policing more attractive straight away by restoring salaries to the levels of pre-austerity, and we need an independent pay review mechanism to ensure fairer remuneration and working conditions for our members.

Administration

“Improving work-life balance, appropriate staffing levels, reducing the paperwork and administration they have to do, improving officer welfare and providing better mental health support, serious investment in our estates and equipment could all help improve retention rates.

“We can’t afford to keep losing officers, in terms of the service we provide and the financial hit.

“We need serious investment in our people and the service so that officers feel valued, supported, and rewarded for the unique job they do.”