Greater Manchester Police sacked 21 officers in the last year, according to new figures. The latest Home Office statistics show the number of police officers dismissed annually from forces across England and Wales has reached a record high.
A total of 461 officers were sacked or had their contracts terminated in 2025/26, rising from 426 in the preceding 12 months. This marks the third consecutive year that a new record has been set, based on data released by the Home Office. The figure, calculated on a headcount basis, has been steadily climbing since the beginning of the decade, when it stood at 164 in 2019/20.
Forces with most dismissals
The five largest forces in England and Wales together account for just over half of all dismissals in 2025/26: the Metropolitan Police (168 dismissals, or 36.4% of the total), Greater Manchester (21, or 4.6%), West Midlands (19, or 4.1%), West Yorkshire (15, or 3.3%) and Thames Valley (11, or 2.4%). Four other forces recorded more than 10 dismissals in 2025/26: Essex (15, or 3.3% of the total), Merseyside (13 or 2.8%), Humberside (12 or 2.6%) and Surrey (11 or 2.4%).
The year to March 2026 also saw 4,877 officers voluntarily leave the police service: the second-highest figure on record, up marginally from 4,806 in 2024/25. Home Office data on police leavers dates back to 2006/07.
Overall officer numbers down slightly
Figures published on Thursday also show there were a total of 145,886 full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers in post in England and Wales at the end of March 2026. This is down 0.4% from 146,452 a year earlier and 1.3% below the recent peak of 147,745 in March 2024. A majority of forces – 34 out of 43 – saw a net increase in FTE officers year on year. Nine forces saw a net decrease, with the Metropolitan Police recording the largest drop, down 1,798 officers from 33,293 to 31,495 – a fall of 5.4%.
Ministers have committed to recruiting 13,000 more neighbourhood policing officers by the end of the parliament in 2029. The Home Office figures show an additional 3,814 FTE officers were in neighbourhood policing roles at the end of March 2026 compared with a year earlier, with the total up from 17,175 to 20,989. This is higher than the target for the first year of the recruitment campaign, which was 3,011 FTE officers. The number includes officers who are currently in training.
Political reaction
Responding to the fall in the total number of police officers, shadow home secretary Chris Philp said: "If people feel less safe today, it's because Labour have abandoned public safety. Labour have slashed budgets, hiked taxes, let out criminals early and left forces with no other choice but to cut officer numbers. Today we have seen the result with over 1,800 fewer officers since Labour came to office, and a decline in over 1,500 frontline officers in the most recent year. The Conservatives have a fully funded plan to clear up Labour's mess and deliver 10,000 extra police officers as part of a plan to take back our streets."
A Home Office spokesperson said: "The number of neighbourhood police officers has skyrocketed by 22% in just one year to fight crime, catch criminals and keep communities safe. We scrapped the pointless rules which saw forces hire thousands of officers that filled back-office roles, including HR and IT. We are investing a record £18.4 billion into our police, putting the right officers in the right places."
