UK police forces spent £123,557,224 on new uniforms over the last three full financial years, with many forces discarding used clothing instead of washing and reusing it, according to data obtained via Freedom of Information requests.
The figures exclude the Met Police, Britain's biggest force, which refused the request. Of the remaining 46 forces that responded, 21 have policies in place to dispose of all used clothing, regardless of condition or how many times it has been worn. This means instead of simply washing uniforms that could be re-commissioned, they are buying brand new every time.
Potential savings highlighted
The probe, instigated by Custom Embroidered Patches UK, found that if uniform spending nationwide was slashed by £60 million, the saving would cover the cost of police patrols in northern France for seven months—a daily rate of £275,000. That figure is from the temporary deal struck between the UK and France in March, which ensured that 700 French police remained dedicated to intercepting small boats and guaranteed that vital surveillance and intelligence-sharing agreements between the two nations remained active.
Alternatively, those funds could offset the estimated £25 million taxpayer bill generated by a single 49ft dinghy earlier this month, which smashed records by carrying 230 migrants across the Channel.
Forces disposing of all worn clothing
The forces that dispose of all worn clothing are Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cumbria, Devon and Cornwall, Dorset, Dyfed-Powys Police, Essex, Hertfordshire, Kent, Lancashire, Merseyside, Northumbria, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Staffordshire and West Mercia. Also included in that figure are Durham, Greater Manchester, North Yorkshire and Warwickshire—although their responses were ambiguous.
Durham and North Yorkshire both mentioned that they reissue used clothing, but say any item that makes skin contact is thrown out, while Warwickshire conceded to not having a policy in place, but didn't provide any guidelines they've followed, like other forces that don't have a uniform disposal policy. Greater Manchester, meanwhile, explicitly mentioned that new items are reissued but said: “any used items that are unusable are destroyed”.
Top five biggest spenders
Business uniform specialists, Custom Embroidered Patches UK, believe public costs could be drastically reduced if forces focused on thoroughly cleaning and reusing serviceable garments instead of routinely destroying them. A spokesperson said: “These numbers highlight the truly staggering financial burden that regional police forces currently face when equipping their officers for the front line.
“When millions of pounds of public money are spent year upon year, the logistical challenge is clear, but these costs could be drastically reduced. Specialised police garments cannot simply be discarded due to severe security risks. It is absolutely vital that constabularies continue to adopt robust recycling strategies, ensuring taxpayer money is protected.”
Ranking the 21 worst-offending police forces by total outlay exposes a staggering financial hierarchy of national wastefulness, accounting for £56,375,471 of the total figure. Police Scotland recorded the highest total, spending £9,570,202 on uniform procurement. Their enormous workforce of 22,775 employees comprises 73% officers, meaning that 16,799 frontline personnel require equipment.
Greater Manchester Police spent the second-highest amount, with £9,489,351. They employ a workforce of 12,986 people, of which 64% are dedicated constables, equating to 8,429 active officers. Next was Merseyside Police who paid out £4,638,384. Their regional workforce of 7,199 staff members contains 59% officers, equipping exactly 4,315 sworn personnel across the documented timeframe.
A sum of £3,019,637 was spent on uniform procurement by Lancashire Constabulary—whose workforce of 6,851 includes 3,765 officers—representing 57.21% of its staff. Rounding out the top five biggest uniform spenders is Devon and Cornwall Police with a bill of £2,904,647. Operating with 6,369 employees, 60% are officers, numbering 3,875.
