EXCLUSIVE: Record number of officers leave Leicestershire Police
There's concern that police officer numbers across England and Wales could leave communities more at risk of crime
Last updated 16th Jan 2023
We can exclusively reveal more officers left Leicestershire Police last year than any other year on record.
Figures obtained by our freedom of information request show 178 officers left Leicestershire Police in 2022, taking the total number to just over 1,300 over the past decade.
Adam Commons is Chair of the Leicestershire Police Federation, he tells us there could be an exodus of officers leaving over the next year:
'We're getting to a pinch point in policing... we're coming to the 1978 moment where nobody wanted to join the police because conditions and pay were so poor', he said.
'At some point somebody is going to have to sit up and start taking notice that we have a problem and I foresee it getting worse in the next year because of the way budgets are going.'
'The Government have done a short term budget deal for the police that's being cut it's not keeping up with inflation. With those budgets not going up in accordance, you see what's going to happen. Demand is up 20%; if you don't recruit and get round these issues, you're going to have a problem.'
He added: 'The pay and conditions the Government are setting around policing, the fact it's being ignored for so many years now because of austerity. People are looking at it and going "You know what? I can actually get the same or more money going to the private sector or doing other roles, so I will walk away thank you very much."'
See the total numbers of officers that left the force by year
- 2013 - 150
- 2014 - 114
- 2015 - 139
- 2016 - 101
- 2017 - 116
- 2018 - 137
- 2019 - 120
- 2020 - 119
- 2021 - 145
- 2022 - 178
'Protecting the public effectively rests on a knife edge'
Recent figures obtained by the Police Federation for England and Wales (PFEW) found that nearly one in five officers planned on quitting in the next two years.
Some of the reasons for wanting to leave being cited by survey respondents were morale (98%) and pay (95%)
PFEW national chairman Steve Hartshorn said record number of officers leaving across England and Wales could 'put communities more at risk of violent crime':
"Police officers are reaching breaking point and are leaving the service in their droves as every element of their pay and conditions has been gradually eroded in the space of a decade.
"Record numbers are resigning over inadequate pay and conditions. We are losing some exceptional officers simply because they cannot afford to stay in the service, with an alarming number unable to afford monthly essentials.
"Many have stopped expecting any recognition from the Government for their unique responsibilities and the restrictions imposed on their industrial rights which is, quite frankly, dangerous.
"Being able to protect the public effectively rests on a knife edge.
"Without sufficient investment in policing, we will see a further detrimental rise in resignations, and officers will not be able to keep up with the new technology innovations criminals use, will not be able to stretch resources to attend all crimes, and, ultimately, will not be able to keep our communities safe from the rise in violent crime."
Officers leaving Leicester 'in line with national figures'
In a statement, Leicestershire Police said: “Leicestershire Police is on track to increase its police officer numbers in line with the targets set by the national Police Uplift Programme and has more officers now than it has had for the past 10 years with 2,308 officers.
“The force recruited 326 officers in 2020; 228 officers in 2021 and a further 175 officers in 2022.
“The percentage of officers leaving, either through retirement, resignation or because they’ve transferred to another force, is as expected and in line with national figures.”
A Home Office spokesperson said:
“Policing is a career like no other and we need officers to keep communities safe and cut crime. We recognise the impact of the cost of living, which is why we accepted in full the Police Remuneration Review Body’s recommendation to award a consolidated increase of £1,900 to all ranks of police officers.
“The government remains on track to deliver its pledge to recruit 20,000 police officers by March 2023. The overwhelming majority of new recruits recently surveyed report positive job satisfaction and want to remain officers for the rest of their working lives.”
The Government said record funds were being injected to policing.