Record number of officers leaving Nottinghamshire Police

The Police Federation of England & Wales said demand is outstripping police resources as the number of officers voluntarily resigning is at its highest across the two nations.

Home Office figures show 65 full-time police officers voluntarily left Nottinghamshire Police in the year to March, up from 58 the year before and the highest since records began in 2006-07.

Including officers who retired or were fired, a total of 152 left the force last year, meaning the constabulary had a leavers rate of 6.5 per cent.

Nottinghamshire Police have been approached for comment.

Across England and Wales, a record high 4,575 full-time officers voluntarily resigned from policing last year, a 33 per cent increase from 3,433 in 2021-22. Overall, the leavers rate reached its highest level at 6.6 per cent.

Steve Hartshorn, federation chairman, said the “worrying” figures echo the concerns of thousands of officers.

He said: “Our members are doing their utmost to protect the public, but demand is continuing to outstrip resources.

“It is paramount the service not only recruits, but retains, which will only be possible if pay and conditions are improved, to give members of the public the service they deserve. The focus going forward needs to be on pay restoration.”

While the turnover rate was at its highest, it was met by a joiners rate of 11.1 per cent, meaning the headcount for all forces increased from 140,200 officers in March 2022 to 147,400 in March 2023.

Mr Hartshorn said it is only a slight increase from 2010’s headcount of 143,700 while the UK population has grown “rapidly” and crime “continues to increase in complexity”.

In Nottinghamshire, the force grew from 2,344 officers in 2022 to 2,400 in 2023.

A Home Office spokeswoman said: “We have delivered a record number of police officers across England and Wales. We made it clear to forces this large investment means we expect numbers to be maintained and they should have robust plans in place to ensure this. Policing is a career like no other. Our latest survey of new recruits showed 82 per cent were satisfied with the job and 77 per cent plan to stay in policing for the rest of their careers."