Police Pay

Police Joiners
and Leavers

The short answer

How many police officers join and leave each year?

In the year to 31 March 2026, 8,872 FTE officers joined the 43 forces in England and Wales and 9,240 left, excluding transfers. 51.4% of leavers resigned rather than retired.

The Home Office counts how many leave and by which route, but not why or where they go. For the reasons, this guide uses the largest national survey of officers' intentions, and says clearly where the official data stops.

Source: Home Office, Police workforce, England and Wales: 31 March 2026, published 22 July 2026. FTE means full-time equivalent; headcount means people.

Latest data: year ending 31 March 2026
England & Wales Home Office official statistics Last updated 19 October 2026

At a glance

Key takeaways

  1. 1 More left than joined, for a second year 8,872 FTE joined (up 12.9%) and 9,240 left (up 5.1%) in 2025/26: a net of about −368 before transfers. See the detail →
  2. 2 Resignation is the main exit route 51.4% of leavers resigned and 37.7% retired. In 2017/18 it was 26.6% and 63.3%. See the detail →
  3. 3 Early leavers are fewer than they were 60.6% of resignations came from officers with under five years' service, down from 72.1% in 2023/24. See the detail →
  4. 4 Morale, health and pay drive intentions In the Federation's 2024 survey, 23% planned to leave within two years; 86% of them cited morale, 75% mental health and 66% pay. See the detail →
  5. 5 Joiners are more diverse than the workforce Women were 44.1% of joiners and ethnic minority officers 10.8%, against 36.8% and 8.7% of all officers. See the detail →
  6. 6 One force skews the national picture The Metropolitan Police recruited 670 FTE and lost 2,155. 28 of the 43 forces recruited at least as many as they lost. See the detail →

01 The headline numbers

Joiners and leavers at a glance

All figures are for the 43 territorial forces of England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2026, excluding transfers between forces unless stated.

Joiners(FTE)

8,872

Up 12.9% on 7,855. Joiner rate 6.1% (5.4% the year before).

Leavers(FTE)

9,240

Up 5.1% on 8,795. Leaver rate 6.3%; the peak was 6.6% in 2022/23.

Resigned(FTE)

4,751

51.4% of leavers. A resignation rate of 3.2%, the same as 2024/25.

Net flow(FTE)

−368

Joiners minus leavers. Officer numbers fell 566 FTE to 145,886 over the year.

Joiners rose 12.9% to 8,872 but leavers rose too, to 9,240: net −368

Police officer joiners and leavers excluding transfers, FTE, years ending 31 March. The diamond is joiners minus leavers.

  • Joiners
  • Leavers
  • Joiners minus leavers
Grouped bar chart: officer joiners and leavers by year, 2010/11 to 2025/26Joiners peaked at 16,328 FTE in 2022/23. In 2025/26 8,872 joined and 9,240 left, a net change of −368 FTE excluding transfers.−6k−3k0k3k6k9k12k15k18kOfficers (FTE)10/11 – Joiners: 1.7k10/11 – Leavers: 6.3k11/12 – Joiners: 2.2k11/12 – Leavers: 6.5k12/13 – Joiners: 1.9k12/13 – Leavers: 6.3k13/14 – Joiners: 4.8k13/14 – Leavers: 6.1k14/15 – Joiners: 6.1k14/15 – Leavers: 6.6k15/16 – Joiners: 4.1k15/16 – Leavers: 7.1k16/17 – Joiners: 6.4k16/17 – Leavers: 7.5k17/18 – Joiners: 6.9k17/18 – Leavers: 7.5k18/19 – Joiners: 8.0k18/19 – Leavers: 7.4k19/20 – Joiners: 12.9k19/20 – Leavers: 7.1k20/21 – Joiners: 12.1k20/21 – Leavers: 6.0k21/22 – Joiners: 12.8k21/22 – Leavers: 8.1k22/23 – Joiners: 16.3k22/23 – Leavers: 9.2k23/24 – Joiners: 9.5k23/24 – Leavers: 9.1k24/25 – Joiners: 7.9k24/25 – Leavers: 8.8k25/26 – Joiners: 8.9k25/26 – Leavers: 9.2k10/11 – Joiners minus leavers: −4.6k11/12 – Joiners minus leavers: −4.4k12/13 – Joiners minus leavers: −4.4k13/14 – Joiners minus leavers: −1.3k14/15 – Joiners minus leavers: −0.5k15/16 – Joiners minus leavers: −2.9k16/17 – Joiners minus leavers: −1.1k17/18 – Joiners minus leavers: −0.6k18/19 – Joiners minus leavers: 0.6k19/20 – Joiners minus leavers: 5.7k20/21 – Joiners minus leavers: 6.1k21/22 – Joiners minus leavers: 4.7k22/23 – Joiners minus leavers: 7.1k23/24 – Joiners minus leavers: 0.4k24/25 – Joiners minus leavers: −0.9k25/26 – Joiners minus leavers: −0.4k'12'14'16'18'20'22'24'2616,3288,872 in9,240 out

Source: Home Office, Police workforce, England and Wales: 31 March 2026 (published 22 July 2026), joiners and leavers open data tables (bulletin Figures 6.1 and 7.1). Accredited Official Statistics.

View the data as a table
Year to 31 MarchJoiners (FTE)Leavers (FTE)Joiners minus leavers
2010/111,7416,293−4,552
2011/122,1526,535−4,383
2012/131,8806,306−4,426
2013/144,7556,078−1,323
2014/156,1206,596−476
2015/164,1377,076−2,939
2016/176,3897,476−1,087
2017/186,8967,505−609
2018/197,9787,387+591
2019/2012,8837,141+5,742
2020/2112,1276,018+6,109
2021/2212,7898,117+4,672
2022/2316,3289,192+7,135
2023/249,4799,080+399
2024/257,8558,795−940
2025/268,8729,240−368

What to noticeLeavers have stayed close to 9,000 FTE a year since 2022/23, so forces now have to recruit about that many each year just to stand still.

Police officer joiners and leavers, England and Wales, last six years (FTE, excluding transfers)
Year to 31 MarchJoinersLeaversJoiners minus leaversChange in officers
2020/2112,1276,018+6,109+6,191
2021/2212,7898,117+4,672+4,927
2022/2316,3289,192+7,135+7,205
2023/249,4799,080+399+311
2024/257,8558,795−940−1,293
2025/268,8729,240−368−566

Source: Home Office joiners and leavers open data tables and Table H3, 31 March 2026 release. Joiners minus leavers is calculated from unrounded figures. The change in officers also reflects transfers and items the release does not itemise.

Why the net flow matters

The short version: recruitment recovered in 2025/26, but not by enough to cover the officers who left. During the uplift years (2019/20 to 2022/23) forces recruited between 12,000 and 16,000 a year while about 6,000 to 9,000 left, so numbers rose fast. Since then joiners have fallen back to roughly the level of leavers.

  • Transfers between forces cancel out nationally. In 2025/26, 1,228 FTE transferred in and 1,167 FTE transferred out, the small difference being moves to or from bodies outside the 43 forces such as British Transport Police.
  • Joiners minus leavers (−368 FTE) is not exactly the published fall in officers (566 FTE). Changes in hours worked, secondments and data revisions also move the FTE total, and the release does not itemise them.
  • The joiner rate divides joiners by officers at the end of the year; the leaver rate divides leavers by officers at the start. That is the Home Office's convention, and it is why the two rates are not exact mirrors.

02 Recruitment

Who joins, and how

A joiner is not always a brand-new student officer. The Home Office separates new recruits from rejoiners, former special constables and transfers.

Standard direct recruits(FTE)

8,449

95.2% of joiners excluding transfers. Includes Police Now, Direct Entry and Fast Track, and PCSOs or staff becoming officers.

Rejoiners(FTE)

272

Former officers returning. Up from 195 in 2024/25; the series high was 476 in 2022/23.

Former special constables(FTE)

150

Down from 512 in 2021/22 and 1,331 in 2013/14, as the special constabulary has shrunk.

Routes into the job

  • Standard direct recruits are people joining as officers for the first time. Between 2006/07 and 2018/19 they were 60% to 80% of all officer joiners each year (including transfers); during the uplift years (2019/20 to 2022/23) about 85%; and in 2025/26, 84%.
  • Transferees (1,228 FTE in 2025/26) move from another force and are excluded from the headline joiner figure, because they do not add to the national total.
  • Entry programmes are a separate question from these routes. Forces choose which of the College of Policing's entry programmes they offer: the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA), the Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP), the pre-join Degree in Professional Policing, and the non-degree Police Constable Entry Programme (PCEP), which launched on 1 April 2024. The Home Office joiner tables do not split recruits by programme.
Police officer joiners in selected years, England and Wales (FTE, excluding transfers)
Year to 31 MarchJoinersJoiner rateOf which rejoinersOf which former specialsWhat was happening
2010/111,7411.3%7893Austerity: lowest intake in the series
2013/144,7553.7%241,331Recruitment restarts
2016/176,3895.2%68886Steady intake below leavers
2018/197,9786.5%91512Last year before the uplift
2019/2012,88310.0%190729Police Uplift Programme begins
2022/2316,32811.1%476510Uplift peak (target date 31 March 2023)
2023/249,4796.4%393343Back to replacement recruiting
2024/257,8555.4%195165Lowest intake since 2017/18
2025/268,8726.1%272150Latest: up 12.9%

Source: Home Office joiners open data table, 31 March 2026 release, 43 territorial forces. Joiner rate = joiners divided by officers (FTE) at the end of the year, the Home Office formula; our recalculated 2024/25 and 2025/26 rates match the published 5.4% and 6.1%.

Other police workers

Officer joiners are only part of the picture. In 2025/26 PCSO joiners rose by 80 FTE (8.7%), police staff and designated officer joiners fell by 1,938 FTE (21.1%) and special constable joiners rose by 92 (9.4%, headcount), according to the same release.

Related reading Candidate hubPolice jobs by forcePolice workforce statistics 2026

03 Representation

Who the new joiners are

Joiners are more diverse than the workforce they join, which is why the female and ethnic minority shares of officers keep reaching new highs.

New joiners are more diverse than the workforce they join: 44.1% women and 10.8% ethnic minority

Share of all officers (31 March 2026) compared with share of officers who joined in the year to 31 March 2026 (excluding transfers). FTE.

Bar chart: female and ethnic minority share of officers versus joinersWomen are 36.8% of officers and 44.1% of joiners. Ethnic minority officers are 8.7% of officers and 10.8% of joiners; 18.3% of residents.Women: all officersWomen: all officers: 36.8%36.8%Women: joinersWomen: joiners: 44.1%44.1%Ethnic minority: officersEthnic minority: officers: 8.7%8.7%Ethnic minority: joinersEthnic minority: joiners: 10.8%10.8%Ethnic minority: residentsEthnic minority: residents: 18.3%18.3%

Source: Home Office, Police workforce, England and Wales: 31 March 2026 (published 22 July 2026), workforce, ethnicity and joiners open data tables; resident share from the bulletin (2021 Census, England and Wales). Accredited Official Statistics.

View the data as a table
MeasureShare %
Female: all officers36.8
Female: joiners 2025/2644.1
Ethnic minority: all officers8.7
Ethnic minority: joiners 2025/2610.8
Ethnic minority: residents (2021 Census)18.3

What to noticeRepresentation rises when joiners are more diverse than leavers. It falls back if newer, more diverse officers are the ones who resign.

  • Women: 44.1% of 2025/26 joiners (3,913 FTE), the second highest share on record after 44.2% in 2024/25. Between 2009/10 and 2019/20 the share varied between 30% and 37%.
  • Ethnic minority officers (excluding White minorities): 932 FTE, 10.8% of joiners who stated their ethnicity (97.3% did), up from 10.1% the year before.
  • Women who leave are more likely to resign: 60.9% of female leavers resigned in 2025/26, against 47.0% of male leavers, while 29.4% of female leavers retired normally against 41.6% of men. Women were 31.7% of all leavers.
  • Age: the joiner figures used here are not broken down by age, so this page does not say whether joiners are school leavers or career changers.
Related reading Police officer demographicsOur Black Workforce survey

04 Exits

Who leaves, and how

The Home Office records the route of every exit. Over a decade the main route has flipped from retirement to resignation.

Resignation is now the main way officers leave: 51.4% of leavers, against 37.7% retiring normally

Police officer leavers by route of exit, FTE, excluding transfers, years ending 31 March.

  • Voluntary resignation
  • Normal retirement
  • Medical retirement
  • Dismissal or contract termination
  • Death or voluntary exit scheme
Stacked bar chart: officer leavers by route of exit, 2010/11 to 2025/26In 2025/26 4,751 FTE officers resigned and 3,487 retired normally, out of 9,240 leavers.0k2k4k6k8k10kLeavers (FTE)10/11 – Voluntary resignation: 1.4k10/11 – Normal retirement: 4.3k10/11 – Medical retirement: 0.3k10/11 – Dismissal or contract termination: 0.2k10/11 – Death or voluntary exit scheme: 0.1k11/12 – Voluntary resignation: 1.2k11/12 – Normal retirement: 4.6k11/12 – Medical retirement: 0.5k11/12 – Dismissal or contract termination: 0.2k11/12 – Death or voluntary exit scheme: 0.1k12/13 – Voluntary resignation: 1.2k12/13 – Normal retirement: 4.3k12/13 – Medical retirement: 0.6k12/13 – Dismissal or contract termination: 0.2k12/13 – Death or voluntary exit scheme: 0.1k13/14 – Voluntary resignation: 1.5k13/14 – Normal retirement: 3.7k13/14 – Medical retirement: 0.6k13/14 – Dismissal or contract termination: 0.2k13/14 – Death or voluntary exit scheme: 0.1k14/15 – Voluntary resignation: 1.8k14/15 – Normal retirement: 3.9k14/15 – Medical retirement: 0.7k14/15 – Dismissal or contract termination: 0.2k14/15 – Death or voluntary exit scheme: 0.1k15/16 – Voluntary resignation: 2.0k15/16 – Normal retirement: 4.2k15/16 – Medical retirement: 0.6k15/16 – Dismissal or contract termination: 0.2k15/16 – Death or voluntary exit scheme: 0.1k16/17 – Voluntary resignation: 2.0k16/17 – Normal retirement: 4.5k16/17 – Medical retirement: 0.6k16/17 – Dismissal or contract termination: 0.3k16/17 – Death or voluntary exit scheme: 0.1k17/18 – Voluntary resignation: 2.0k17/18 – Normal retirement: 4.7k17/18 – Medical retirement: 0.5k17/18 – Dismissal or contract termination: 0.2k17/18 – Death or voluntary exit scheme: 0.1k18/19 – Voluntary resignation: 2.2k18/19 – Normal retirement: 4.5k18/19 – Medical retirement: 0.5k18/19 – Dismissal or contract termination: 0.2k18/19 – Death or voluntary exit scheme: 0.0k19/20 – Voluntary resignation: 2.4k19/20 – Normal retirement: 4.2k19/20 – Medical retirement: 0.4k19/20 – Dismissal or contract termination: 0.2k19/20 – Death or voluntary exit scheme: 0.1k20/21 – Voluntary resignation: 2.0k20/21 – Normal retirement: 3.4k20/21 – Medical retirement: 0.4k20/21 – Dismissal or contract termination: 0.2k20/21 – Death or voluntary exit scheme: 0.1k21/22 – Voluntary resignation: 3.4k21/22 – Normal retirement: 4.1k21/22 – Medical retirement: 0.3k21/22 – Dismissal or contract termination: 0.2k21/22 – Death or voluntary exit scheme: 0.1k22/23 – Voluntary resignation: 4.6k22/23 – Normal retirement: 4.0k22/23 – Medical retirement: 0.4k22/23 – Dismissal or contract termination: 0.2k22/23 – Death or voluntary exit scheme: 0.1k23/24 – Voluntary resignation: 5.1k23/24 – Normal retirement: 3.2k23/24 – Medical retirement: 0.3k23/24 – Dismissal or contract termination: 0.4k23/24 – Death or voluntary exit scheme: 0.1k24/25 – Voluntary resignation: 4.7k24/25 – Normal retirement: 3.2k24/25 – Medical retirement: 0.4k24/25 – Dismissal or contract termination: 0.4k24/25 – Death or voluntary exit scheme: 0.1k25/26 – Voluntary resignation: 4.8k25/26 – Normal retirement: 3.5k25/26 – Medical retirement: 0.5k25/26 – Dismissal or contract termination: 0.5k25/26 – Death or voluntary exit scheme: 0.1k'12'14'16'18'20'22'24'26

Source: Home Office, Police workforce, England and Wales: 31 March 2026 (published 22 July 2026), leavers open data table (bulletin Figure 7.3 and Table 7.1). Accredited Official Statistics.

View the data as a table
Year to 31 MarchResignationNormal retirementMedical retirementDismissal / contract terminationDeath / exit schemeTotal
2010/111,3914,300347172846,293
2011/121,1584,632505179606,535
2012/131,2194,254591175676,306
2013/141,5223,739570189576,078
2014/151,7843,851676233526,596
2015/161,9684,211582247697,076
2016/172,0354,507587289577,476
2017/181,9954,747500211517,505
2018/192,1754,492514161467,387
2019/202,3634,169377163697,141
2020/211,9963,429357169676,018
2021/223,4334,134303180678,117
2022/234,5753,956363222739,192
2023/245,0583,240335364829,080
2024/254,6683,198425423818,795
2025/264,7513,487482459609,240

What to noticeRetirement was the main exit route every year until 2021/22. Resignation overtook it in 2022/23 and has stayed ahead since.

Police officer leavers by route of exit, England and Wales (FTE, excluding transfers)
Route2025/26 (FTE)Share 2025/26Share 2024/25Share 2017/18
Voluntary resignation4,75151.4%53.1%26.6%
Normal retirement3,48737.7%36.4%63.3%
Medical (ill-health) retirement4825.2%4.8%6.7%
Dismissal or contract termination4595.0%4.8%2.8%
Death in service600.7%0.9%0.7%
All leavers (excluding transfers)9,240100.0%100.0%100.0%

Source: Home Office leavers open data table, 31 March 2026 release. Shares are calculated from unrounded FTE figures. Voluntary exit schemes (under 6 FTE a year) are counted in the total but not shown as a separate row.

What each route means

  • Voluntary resignation: officers who choose to leave. 4,751 FTE in 2025/26, 51.4% of leavers, against 1,158 FTE (17.7%) in 2011/12. The peak was 5,058 FTE in 2023/24.
  • Normal retirement: 3,487 FTE (37.7%). The share has risen slightly each year since 2023/24, when it bottomed at 35.7%.
  • Medical retirement (ill-health): 482 FTE (5.2%), up from 425 the year before.
  • Dismissal or contract termination: 459 FTE (5.0%). This has roughly doubled since 2022/23 (222 FTE). The Home Office stresses that it includes redundancies and other contract terminations, not only misconduct dismissals, so do not read it as a misconduct count.
  • Death in service: 60 FTE.

Up to 2022/23, people leaving under voluntary exit schemes were counted with resignations. From 2023/24 they are separated, because a voluntary exit scheme is legally a dismissal. The numbers are tiny, so the change does not affect the trend.

The leaver rate is 6.3%, just under its 6.6% peak, and the joiner rate has fallen back to the same level

Percent of officers (FTE), years ending 31 March, excluding transfers. Leaver and resignation rates use the officers in post at the start of the year; the joiner rate uses officers in post at the end.

  • Leaver rate
  • Voluntary resignation rate
  • Joiner rate
Line chart: officer leaver, resignation and joiner rates, 2010/11 to 2025/26The leaver rate peaked at 6.6% in 2022/23 and was 6.3% in 2025/26. The resignation rate peaked at 3.4% in 2023/24 and was 3.2%. The joiner rate peaked at 11.1% in 2022/23 and was 6.1%.0%2%4%6%8%10%12%20112014201720202023202611.1%6.6%3.4%6.3%3.2%

Source: Home Office, Police workforce, England and Wales: 31 March 2026 (published 22 July 2026), joiners and leavers open data tables and Table H3, computed with the Home Office's stated formula (matches bulletin Table 7.2). Accredited Official Statistics.

Before 2023/24 voluntary resignations included the very small number leaving under voluntary exit schemes.

View the data as a table
Year to 31 MarchLeaver rate %Resignation rate %Joiner rate %
2010/114.41.01.3
2011/124.70.81.6
2012/134.70.91.5
2013/144.71.23.7
2014/155.21.44.8
2015/165.61.53.3
2016/176.01.65.2
2017/186.11.65.6
2018/196.01.86.5
2019/205.81.910.0
2020/214.71.59.0
2021/226.02.59.1
2022/236.63.311.1
2023/246.23.46.4
2024/256.03.25.4
2025/266.33.26.1

What to noticeThe resignation rate (resignations as a share of officers at the start of the year) has held at 3.2% to 3.4% for three years, about four times the 0.8% of 2011/12.

Related reading Police resignation rate explainedMisconduct guides

05 Length of service

When in their career officers leave

Since 2023/24 the Home Office has published length of service at the point of leaving. It shows two groups: early-career resigners and long-service retirees.

Leavers with under 5 years(headcount)

3,203

34.0% of the 9,426 officers who left, against 31.7% of officers in post at the start of the year.

Resigned in year one(headcount)

822

Of 846 officers who left in their first year, 822 resigned. 1,475 resignations came from officers with under two years.

Leavers with 20+ years(headcount)

4,091

3,178 of them retired normally. Long-service leavers are mostly retirements, as you would expect.

60.6% of officers who resigned had under five years' service; resignations then fall away after ten years

Voluntary resignations by length of service at leaving, headcount, excluding transfers, year ending 31 March 2026. Under-five-year bands are highlighted.

  • Under 5 years
  • 5 years or more
Bar chart: officer resignations by length of service, 2025/26Under 1 year: 822; 1 to under 2: 653; 2 to under 3: 639; 3 to under 4: 524; 4 to under 5: 318; 5 to under 10: 841; 10 to under 15: 295; 15 to under 20: 326; 20 to under 25: 232; 25 to under 30: 79; 30 or more: 148Under 1 yearUnder 1 year: 8228221 to under 21 to under 2: 6536532 to under 32 to under 3: 6396393 to under 43 to under 4: 5245244 to under 54 to under 5: 3183185 to under 105 to under 10: 84184110 to under 1510 to under 15: 29529515 to under 2015 to under 20: 32632620 to under 2520 to under 25: 23223225 to under 3025 to under 30: 797930 or more30 or more: 148148

Source: Home Office, Police workforce, England and Wales: 31 March 2026 (published 22 July 2026), Table JL6. Official Statistics (not accredited).

View the data as a table
Length of service at leavingResignations (headcount)All leavers (headcount)
Under 1 year822846
1 to under 2653689
2 to under 3639726
3 to under 4524581
4 to under 5318361
5 to under 108411,031
10 to under 15295393
15 to under 20326708
20 to under 252321,318
25 to under 30791,330
30 or more1481,443

What to noticeResignations peak in the first year and stay high to year five, then fall. After 15 years, retirement takes over as the main way out.

Police officer leavers by length of service at leaving and route, England and Wales, year ending 31 March 2026 (headcount)
Length of serviceAll leaversResignedRetired (normal)Retired (medical)Dismissed / terminatedShare who resigned
Under 1 year846822311997.2%
1 to under 2689653603094.8%
2 to under 37266391026988.0%
3 to under 4581524514790.2%
4 to under 5361318513488.1%
5 to under 101,031841472111381.6%
10 to under 1539329538183975.1%
15 to under 20708326241834446.0%
20 to under 251,3182328182114317.6%
25 to under 301,330791,086141205.9%
30 or more1,4431481,27415310.3%

Source: Home Office, Table JL6, 31 March 2026 release. Headcount, excluding transfers, 9,426 leavers of whom 4,877 resigned. Official Statistics (not accredited): some forces record time in the current role rather than total service, and rejoiners' service counts from the rejoin date, which skews figures towards shorter service.

Fewer of those leaving are new officers: 60.6% of resignations had under five years' service, down from 72.1% two years ago

Share of officer leavers and of voluntary resignations with under five years' service, headcount, excluding transfers.

  • All leavers
  • Voluntary resignations
Grouped bar chart: share of leavers and resignations with under five years' service, 2023/24 to 2025/262023/24: 42.9 per cent of leavers and 72.1 per cent of resignations; 2024/25: 38.2 per cent of leavers and 66.7 per cent of resignations; 2025/26: 34.0 per cent of leavers and 60.6 per cent of resignations0%20%40%60%80%2023/24 – All leavers: 42.91901255954959%2023/24 – Voluntary resignations: 72.10250436808387%2024/25 – All leavers: 38.17736730833426%2024/25 – Voluntary resignations: 66.74989596337912%2025/26 – All leavers: 33.98047952471887%2025/26 – Voluntary resignations: 60.61103137174493%2023/242024/252025/2642.9%72.1%38.2%66.7%34.0%60.6%

Source: Home Office, Police workforce, England and Wales: 31 March 2026 (published 22 July 2026), length of service open data table (leavers sheet) and Table JL6. Official Statistics (not accredited).

View the data as a table
Year to 31 MarchLeavers under 5 yrs %Resignations under 5 yrs %
2023/2442.972.1
2024/2538.266.7
2025/2634.060.6

What to noticeThe share of resignations from under-five-year officers has fallen two years running, from 72.1% to 60.6%, as recruitment slowed and the uplift cohort gained service.

Related reading Police experience levels and length of service

06 Reasons

Why officers say they leave

The official statistics record the route of exit, not the reason. The best national evidence on reasons comes from surveys of serving officers, which measure intentions.

The short version: officers who plan to leave most often point to low morale, the effect of the job on their mental health and how the police are treated by government. Pay is a major factor for two in three.

The Police Federation Pay and Morale Survey

The Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) surveys federated ranks (constables to chief inspectors) every year. Its 2024 survey ran from 16 September to 28 October 2024 and the headline report was published in January 2025. It had 35,092 usable responses, about 24% of federated officers. It is the most recent national edition the Federation has published.

  • 23% intended to leave policing within the next two years or as soon as they could, up from 22% in 2023.
  • 57% planned to stay until retirement, and a further 19% for at least two more years.
  • 75% would not recommend joining the police; 10% would.
  • 57% rated their own morale as low or very low.
Factors with a major impact on officers' intention to leave the police service, Pay and Morale Survey 2024 (respondents planning to leave within two years)
FactorSaid it was a major factor
Your morale86%
Impact of the job on mental health75%
How the police are treated by the government74%
Your pay66%
Better jobs elsewhere64%
Impact on physical health64%
How the police are treated by the public61%
Impact of the job on personal or family life59%
Workload and responsibilities53%
Your pension41%

Source: Police Federation of England and Wales and Social Market Foundation, Pay and Morale Survey 2024: Headline Report (R001/2025), January 2025, Figure 5. Respondents could pick more than one factor.

Money pressures behind the pay answer

  • 79% of respondents felt worse off than five years earlier (85% in 2023).
  • 31% could not cover their monthly essentials every month, and 15% never or almost never could.
  • 76% were dissatisfied with their basic pay; 65% with their overall remuneration.
  • In its evidence to the Police Remuneration Review Body (15 June 2026), the Federation cited a 22 per cent drop in police officer pay since 2010 and asked for an award of at least 7 per cent in 2026/27.

What the inspectorate found

HMICFRS's State of Policing 2025 to 2026 (published 8 September 2026) said too many officers and staff experience low morale and poor well-being, reflecting high workloads, inconsistent support and a feeling of not being valued. It cited the 2026 National Police Workforce and Wellbeing Survey: of 55,602 respondents in 33 forces, 45% always or often felt burnt out because of work and 56% always or often felt fatigued or physically exhausted. Its inspections found that most forces had early intervention processes to encourage people to stay, and exit processes to understand why people were leaving.

Related reading Is pay driving resignations?The P-factor explainedPolice pay vs inflation calculator

07 Destinations

Where leavers go

This is the question people ask most, and the one the official data answers least. Here is what is known, and what is not.

The short version: no official dataset tracks where former police officers go after they leave. Any article that gives percentages for jobs in security, compliance or the civil service is not drawing on Home Office data.

What is measured

  • Moving force: 1,167 FTE officers transferred out of a force in 2025/26, either to another of the 43 forces or to a body such as British Transport Police. Transfers are not counted as leavers.
  • Coming back: 272 FTE former officers rejoined in 2025/26. Rejoiners have run between about 25 and 480 FTE a year since 2010/11, peaking in 2022/23 during the uplift.
  • Retiring: 3,487 FTE retired normally and 482 on ill-health grounds, so about two in five leavers moved onto a police pension rather than another job.
  • Moving within policing: some officers leave to become police staff, and some special constables become regular officers (150 FTE in 2025/26). The Home Office does not publish officer-to-staff moves as a single figure.

What is not measured

Destinations after resignation are not collected nationally. The closest evidence is that 64% of Federation survey respondents planning to leave named "better jobs elsewhere" as a major factor, which tells you officers believe there are better-paid or less stressful options, not where they actually end up.

08 Force by force

Joiners and leavers by force

National totals hide very different force pictures. Rates compare forces of different sizes fairly; counts show where the volume is.

Metropolitan Police(FTE)

−1,485

670 joined and 2,155 left: a joiner rate of 2.1%, the second lowest of any force.

Highest joiner rate: West Midlands(FTE)

9.7%

792 joiners against 566 leavers.

Highest leaver rate: North Yorkshire(FTE)

8.3%

137 leavers, of whom 60 resigned.

Forces with the highest officer joiner rates, year ending 31 March 2026 (FTE, excluding transfers)
ForceJoinersJoiner rateLeaversLeaver rate
West Midlands7929.7%5667.1%
Dorset1339.1%1138.0%
Hampshire and Isle of Wight3099.0%2587.7%
Leicestershire2059.0%1526.7%
Cumbria1248.8%876.4%
Durham1218.6%916.6%
Thames Valley4298.4%2986.0%
Wiltshire1038.4%826.8%

Source: Home Office Tables JL1 to JL4, 31 March 2026 release. Joiner rate uses officers at 31 March 2026; leaver rate uses officers at 31 March 2025.

Forces with the highest officer leaver rates, year ending 31 March 2026 (FTE, excluding transfers)
ForceLeaversLeaver rateOf whom resignedJoiners
North Yorkshire1378.3%60127
Gloucestershire1098.1%67101
Dorset1138.0%55133
Devon and Cornwall2817.8%139275
Hampshire and Isle of Wight2587.7%145309
Bedfordshire1127.5%67111
South Wales2567.3%96259
Suffolk1007.2%65100

Source: Home Office Tables JL1 to JL4, 31 March 2026 release. Small forces can swing several points on a few dozen leavers, so treat one year with care.

What to noticeThe Metropolitan Police lost about three officers for every one it recruited. Excluding the Met, the other 42 forces recruited more officers than they lost.

Related reading All 43 forces: full tableHow many officers in each force?

09 Interpretation

What it means for you

The sections above report the data. This is our reading of it, labelled as such.

If you want to join

Forces need roughly 9,000 new officers a year just to replace leavers, so recruitment is steady even though the uplift is over. Demand varies a lot by force: check where joiner rates are high and which entry programmes each force runs.

Candidate hub →

If you are early in service

The first two years are when resignation is most common. If you are struggling, a transfer, a change of role or a career break may solve the problem without losing your service and pension. Get the numbers before you decide.

What leaving costs →

If you follow policy

The resignation rate has stopped rising but has not fallen, and the national total depends heavily on one force. Watch early-career resignations and the Metropolitan Police's intake in the September 2026 and March 2027 releases.

Full 2026 statistics →

10 Myths and facts

What people get wrong

Common claims about police joiners and leavers, checked against the official figures.

Myth

Record numbers of officers are resigning.

Fact

Resignations peaked at 5,058 FTE in 2023/24. In 2025/26 there were 4,751, and the rate has been 3.2% for two years.

Myth

Most officers who resign are experienced.

Fact

60.6% of resignations came from officers with under five years' service, and 22.1% from those with ten or more.

Myth

The 'dismissal' figure is the misconduct figure.

Fact

It includes redundancies and contract terminations as well as dismissals, so it overstates misconduct dismissals.

Myth

The uplift target was missed because numbers are falling.

Fact

The target was 20,000 recruits by March 2023 and 20,951 were recruited. Officer numbers peaked in 2024 and have fallen since: both are true.

Myth

Most ex-officers go into private security.

Fact

There is no official data on where leavers go. Claims like this are anecdotal.

Myth

Recruiting more officers fixes experience gaps.

Fact

New joiners add numbers immediately but experience only with time. See our length of service guide.

11 · Quick answers

Joiners and leavers: frequently asked questions

Each answer starts with the short version, then adds the detail.

How many police officers joined in 2025/26?

8,872 full-time equivalent (FTE) officers joined the 43 territorial forces of England and Wales in the year to 31 March 2026, excluding transfers.

That is up 12.9% on 7,855 in 2024/25 and a joiner rate of 6.1%. It is well below the uplift peak of 16,328 in 2022/23, but slightly above the years before the Police Uplift Programme, according to the Home Office release of 22 July 2026.

How many police officers left in 2025/26?

9,240 FTE officers left in the year to 31 March 2026, excluding transfers, up 5.1% on 8,795 the year before.

The leaver rate was 6.3%, against 6.0% in 2024/25 and a peak of 6.6% in 2022/23. In headcount terms 9,426 officers left. Joiners minus leavers came to about −368 FTE, and officer numbers fell by 566 FTE to 145,886.

Why do police officers leave?

Officially, 51.4% of leavers resigned and 37.7% retired in 2025/26. The Home Office does not record the reasons behind a resignation.

The best national evidence on reasons is the Police Federation's Pay and Morale Survey 2024 (35,092 responses). Of officers planning to leave within two years, 86% said low morale was a major factor, 75% the impact on their mental health, 74% how the government treats the police and 66% their pay. That is a survey of intentions, not a record of why people actually left.

What percentage of police leavers resign rather than retire?

51.4% of officer leavers resigned voluntarily in 2025/26 (4,751 FTE), against 37.7% who retired normally.

A decade ago the picture was reversed: in 2017/18, 63.3% of leavers retired normally and 26.6% resigned. Resignation overtook retirement in 2022/23 and peaked at 55.7% of leavers in 2023/24.

How many officers leave within their first five years?

3,203 of the 9,426 officers who left in 2025/26 (34.0%, headcount) had under five years' service, including 846 in their first year.

Of officers who resigned, 60.6% had under five years' service, down from 72.1% in 2023/24. Length of service at leaving is Official Statistics rather than Accredited Official Statistics, because some forces record time in the current role rather than total service.

Where do police officers go after leaving?

No official dataset tracks where former officers go, so any list of destinations is anecdotal rather than measured.

What the statistics do show is movement within policing: 1,167 FTE officers transferred out of a force in 2025/26 (to another force or a body such as British Transport Police), and 272 FTE former officers rejoined. In the Police Federation's 2024 survey, 64% of those planning to leave cited better jobs elsewhere as a major factor.

Can police officers rejoin after resigning?

Yes. 272 FTE rejoiners came back in 2025/26, and 476 in 2022/23, the highest year in the series since 2010/11.

Rejoiners are counted as joiners in the Home Office statistics. When an officer rejoins, Home Office length-of-service data counts from the rejoin date and does not include earlier service. Ask the force you want to rejoin about its own process and eligibility.

Are more women joining the police?

Women were 44.1% of officers who joined in 2025/26 (3,913 FTE), the second highest share on record after 44.2% in 2024/25.

Between 2009/10 and 2019/20 the female share of joiners varied between 30% and 37%. Women were 31.7% of leavers in 2025/26. 60.9% of women who left resigned, against 47.0% of men, and 29.4% retired normally, against 41.6% of men.

How many ethnic minority officers joined in 2025/26?

932 FTE joiners (10.8% of those who stated their ethnicity) were from ethnic minority backgrounds, excluding White minorities, up from 10.1% in 2024/25.

That is above the 8.7% share of all officers, so joiners are slowly raising representation. The Home Office compares the workforce with 18.3% of the England and Wales population in the 2021 Census.

Which police force recruits the most officers?

In 2025/26 West Midlands recruited the most (792 FTE), followed by Metropolitan Police (670) and Greater Manchester (621).

The Metropolitan Police recruited 670 FTE but lost 2,155, a joiner rate of 2.1% against 6.5% for leavers. The highest joiner rate was West Midlands at 9.7%.

12 Sources and methodology

Where the numbers come from

Official statistics first, then surveys, each with its date. Calculations by PolicePay are limited to differences, shares and rates.

Method notes

  • Joiners and leavers are FTE, excluding transfers, summed across the 43 territorial forces (British Transport Police excluded), from src/data/police-workforce-2026.ts, which copies the Home Office tables.
  • Leaver and resignation rates divide by officers at the previous 31 March; joiner rates by officers at the current 31 March. Our recalculated rates match the published rates in bulletin Table 7.2.
  • Length of service at leaving is headcount (9,426 leavers), so it does not add up to the FTE totals.
  • This is independent explanatory analysis. PolicePay is not affiliated with the Home Office, HMICFRS, the Police Federation or any force.

Keep exploring

Workforce statistics hub Police workforce statistics 2026 Police resignation rate explained Police experience levels How many police officers are there? Police officer demographics What leaving the police costs you Become a police officer Police jobs by force

Data source

Home Office
Police Workforce, England and Wales: 31 March 2026

Independent explanatory analysis by PolicePay.co.uk. Published 19 October 2026.