Record numbers of officers quit police service

27 July 2023

Record numbers of police officers are quitting the service across England and Wales, according to new Home Office data.

The figures reveal a total of 4,668 officers resigned between April 2022 and March 2023.

This is the highest number since comparable records began 16 years ago and shows a 32 per cent increase on the 3,533 who left the service in 2021/22.

The data shows 98 officers resigned from Hertfordshire Police in the 12 months to last March.

A further five retired on medical grounds during the same period and 40 took normal retirement.

Some 28 officers transferred to other forces while five were dismissed, taking the total number of departures for the year to 175.

Hertfordshire Police Federation secretary Al Wollaston said the figures would surprise no one in policing.

Record number of officers are walking away from the police service

Al said: “We have been warning of a retention crisis in policing for years so although the figures are very worrying they don’t come as a surprise.

“I think a lot of police officers have just had enough of the growing workloads, the increased pressures and a feeling that they are being taken for granted and not really respected or recognised for the work they do.

“We accepted a seven per cent pay rise this year but that came after years and years of low or zero per cent increases and in many cases real-terms pay cuts. And it was still below the rate of inflation.

“And money is as big an influencer as anything else in terms of the cost of living crisis, particularly in Hertfordshire which is one of the most expensive areas of the country.

“Money talks when people are deciding to do what’s best for them and their families and in too many cases that means looking elsewhere for a better paid job.”

The number of officers leaving the service was highlighted as the Home Office hailed the success of the Police Uplift Programme which saw the recruitment of more than 20,000 officers across the country.

The latest revised figures show the Hertfordshire Police had a total of 2,390 officers as of March 31.

The Force took on 330 new officers under the Police Uplift Programme, 34 more than the target of 304 set by the Government when the campaign was launched in 2019.