Question to the Home Office:

To ask His Majesty's Government what percentage of serving Metropolitan Police Service officers have served for more than five years, and what assessment they have made of the strength of institutional memory within the Metropolitan Police Service.

The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the length of service of police officers employed within the police service in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.

Information on the length of service of police officers employed in each of the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales can be found in Table JL5 in the data tables accompanying each publication.

As at 31 March 2023, 67% of police officers employed within the Metropolitan Police Service had 5 years or more service.

The retention of experienced police officers is a priority for the Home Office and the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC). Voluntary resignation rates, at around 3%, are low compared to other sectors.