Officer numbers fall

1 August 2025

The Force had nine fewer officers at the end of March this year than it did at the same point in 2024.

The latest statistics, revealed in the Government’s Police workforce, England and Wales: 31 March 2025 report, show that officer numbers dropped from 8,000 to 7,991 in 12 months.

“While this is only a small reduction, it is still of concern,” says Jess Davies, chair of West Midlands Police Federation, “We have long been flagging up an officer retention crisis that seriously threatens our ability to serve and protect our communities.

“While we are recruiting new officers, we are clearly still losing more than we can take on and more has to be done to tackle this or we will see our numbers continue to fall.

“When you look at the statistics across all 43 forces in England and Wales, you can get a clearer picture of the depth of the crisis. We are one of 25 forces to see our officer numbers fall in the 12 months to the end of March this year. One force’s numbers were down by 57 and another by 47 so we are faring better than some, but that is a small comfort.”

The Government has pledged to recruit 13,000 extra police officers, PCSOs and Special Constables into neighbourhood policing roles by 2029. 

But Jess pointed out that this had got off to a slow start.

Target

“Based on where we stand today, I would say that it is going to be challenging to meet this target,” she said, “That is a problem in itself but there also has to be an acknowledgement that the impact of an influx of new officers will not be felt in the short to medium term. It takes time for our new officers to go through the training process, gain experience on the job and be truly effective in terms of responding to calls for assistance from the public.

“There is also the added responsibilities taken on by our tutor constables who support the new officers as they start their roles within the Force.”

The Police Federation of England and Wales is currently promoting its Copped Enough – What the police take home is criminal campaign which, in addition to calling for fair pay, is calling for a real plan to keep experienced officers on the beat with a focus on retention not just recruitment.

The campaign also wants support for officers’ frontline risks, including an Army-style P-Factor allowance recognising the dangers officers face and better protection and mental health support so officers do not suffer in silence.

READ MORE: Police Unity Tour gets underway.