Police Resignation
Rate Explained
3.2% of police officers in England and Wales resigned in 2025/26. That is roughly four times the 2011/12 rate, and voluntary resignation is still the main reason officers leave, at 51.4% of all leavers.
Strategic Summary
The resignation rate measures the percentage of serving officers who voluntarily leave policing before eligibility for normal retirement.
Current Rate
3.2% in 2025/26 (4,751 FTE officers), level with 2024/25 and just below the 3.4% peak of 2023/24. It was 0.8% in 2011/12.
Primary Exit
51.4% of leavers resigned in 2025/26 against 37.7% who retired normally. Resignation overtook retirement in 2022/23.
Target Window
60.6% of resignations were by officers with under five years' service, and 17.2% by those with five to under ten.
Uplift Legacy
Early-service resignation compounds the experience gap left by rapid recruitment, though the under-five share of resignations has fallen from 72.1% (2023/24).
What is the Resignation Rate?
National Resignation Rate
3.2%
2025/26 (Home Office Published Rate)
The resignation rate is a simple calculation of voluntary exits relative to the officers in post at the start of the year.
÷
Officers (FTE) at Previous 31 March
What is NOT included?
Normal Retirement
Excluded
Medical Retirement
Excluded
Dismissals
Excluded
Transfers (Force to Force)
Excluded
Against 146,452 FTE officers in post at 31 March 2025, a 3.2% rate equates to 4,751 FTE voluntary resignations in 2025/26 (4,877 people). The wider leaver rate, which includes retirements, dismissals and other exits, was 6.3%. Resignation represents officers who choose to leave policing entirely, usually before pensionable age. For the full national picture, see our Police Workforce Statistics 2026 analysis.
Resignation vs Retirement
Retirement
Full Lifecycle
- Typical service: 20+ years (90% of normal retirements)
- Driven by pension eligibility
- Natural career conclusion
Resignation
Interrupted Lifecycle
- Typical service: under 5 years (60.6% of resignations)
- Driven by structural stressors
- Loss of peer-trained capability
"Retirement is a predictable conclusion. Resignation is an operational interruption. The shift from one to the other is the defining feature of retention in the 2020s."
Historical Context
2010 – 2015
Austerity Contraction
Workforce shrinking overall due to recruitment freezes. The resignation rate stayed low, between 0.8% (2011/12) and 1.4% (2014/15), because most leavers retired: 58% to 71% of leavers each year.
2016 – 2019
Early Drift
Gradual increase in voluntary exits as workload pressure increased across the smaller workforce. The resignation rate rose from 1.6% in 2016/17 to 1.8% in 2018/19 and 1.9% in 2019/20.
2020 – 2023
The Uplift Phase
National recruitment to add 20,000 officers by March 2023 (the Home Office reported 20,951 recruited). The large influx of probationers created a "younger" workforce profile, and the resignation rate climbed from 1.5% in 2020/21 to 2.5% in 2021/22 and 3.3% in 2022/23.
2023 – 2026
The Resignation Plateau
Officer numbers peaked in March 2024 (147,745 FTE) and have fallen since, to 145,886 FTE in March 2026. The resignation rate has held between 3.2% and 3.4% for four years running (3.3%, 3.4%, 3.2%, 3.2%). Churn replaces growth.
Why Mid-Career Resignation Matters
Recruitment can replace headcount, but it cannot immediately replace experience. Officers leaving in the 3–10 year window represent the "operational engine room" of the service. In 2025/26, 1,683 of the 4,877 officers who resigned (34.5%) were in that window, and a further 1,475 (30.2%) had under two years' service.
Under 2 years
1,475
30.2% of resignations (822 under one year)
2 to under 5 years
1,481
30.4% of resignations
5 to under 10 years
841
17.2% of resignations
10+ years
1,080
22.1% of resignations
Officers who resigned in the year to 31 March 2026, by length of service at leaving (headcount, excluding transfers; 4,877 people). Home Office Table JL6, Official Statistics (not accredited): some forces record time in the current role rather than total service, which skews the figures towards shorter service. The under-five share of resignations was 72.1% in 2023/24, 66.7% in 2024/25 and 60.6% in 2025/26.
Operational Lead
Fully trained response drivers, accredited investigators, and experienced tutors who train the next generation.
Future Leadership
The pipeline for future Sergeants and Inspectors. Losing this layer destabilises long-term leadership stability.
Financial Loss
Lost investment in training and accreditation costs. Replacement requires several years to reach the same operational utility.
Structural Drivers
While official statistics represent volume, research from the Police Federation and academic studies highlight consistent structural factors driving these exits:
Workload intensity and persistent cumulative trauma exposure.
Shift work fatigue and the impact on long-term family relationships.
Stagnation in career progression relative to academic requirements.
Real-terms pay stagnation compared to private sector inflation.
Long-Term Implications
Workforce Stability Requirement
Sustained mid-career resignation creates leadership pipeline instability and an permanent reliance on probationary officers. This increases training overhead and pension modelling volatility. Stability requires preservation of experience as much as recruitment of new headcount.
Explore Related Analysis
Resignation FAQ
What is the current police resignation rate in England and Wales?
How many officers resign each year?
Is resignation higher than retirement?
Are police officer numbers falling?
Why are officers resigning?
Data Source
Home Office
Police Workforce, England and Wales, 31 March
2026 (published 22 July 2026)
Independent explanatory analysis by PolicePay.co.uk