Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if she will make (a) an estimate of the total number of police officers required in the UK for police forces to operate effectively and (b) an assessment of the adequacy of the current number serving.

The Government is clear that an effective, well-supported police service is central to delivering safer communities and improved public confidence.

The Home Office does not set a requirement for the number of officers forces should have in order to operate effectively.

For too long the focus has been on officer numbers alone. Society, crime, and public expectations are changing, and policing must modernise to reflect this.

The Police Reform White Paper published earlier this year outlines our plans to develop a new Police Workforce Strategy to build and support a modern, capable, and sustainable police workforce. The strategy will consider what mix of officers, staff, and specialist skills policing needs to respond to today’s challenges and anticipate those of the future.

It is for Chief Constables, directly accountable to the relevant Police and Crime Commissioner or Mayor, to make operational decisions. This includes decisions on local workforce requirements informed by individual forces’ operational needs and assessments of local demand and risk.