List of police forces in the United Kingdom

This is a list of the Police forces in the United Kingdom.

Countries

Police Officer numbers in England and Wales are at their highest ever levels.[1]

England

  1. Avon and Somerset Constabulary
  2. Bedfordshire Police
  3. Cambridgeshire Constabulary
  4. Cheshire Constabulary
  5. City of London Police (not shown)
  6. Cleveland Police
  7. Cumbria Constabulary
  8. Derbyshire Constabulary
  9. Devon and Cornwall Constabulary
  10. Dorset Police
  11. Durham Constabulary
  12. Essex Police
  13. Gloucestershire Constabulary
  14. Greater Manchester Police
  15. Hampshire Constabulary
  16. Hertfordshire Constabulary
  17. Humberside Police
  18. Kent Police
  19. Lancashire Constabulary
  20. Leicestershire Constabulary
  1. Lincolnshire Police
  2. Merseyside Police
  3. Metropolitan Police
  4. Norfolk Constabulary
  5. Northamptonshire Police
  6. Northumbria Police
  7. North Yorkshire Police
  8. Nottinghamshire Police
  9. South Yorkshire Police
  10. Staffordshire Police*
  11. Suffolk Constabulary
  12. Surrey Police
  13. Sussex Police
  14. Thames Valley Police
  15. Warwickshire Police
  16. West Mercia Constabulary*
  17. West Midlands Police*
  18. West Yorkshire Police
  19. Wiltshire Constabulary

* Note: Staffordshire, West Mercia and West Midlands participate in a partnership called the Central Motorway Police Group

In September 2006 police numbers in England were:[2]

  • Police officers: 133,775
  • Police Community Support Officers: 8,133
  • Other staff: 70,818

Wales

  1. Dyfed-Powys Police (Heddlu Dyfed Powys)
  2. Gwent Police (Heddlu Gwent)
  3. North Wales Police (Heddlu Gogledd Cymru)
  4. South Wales Police (Heddlu De Cymru)

In September 2006 police numbers in Wales were:[2]

  • Police officers: 7,579
  • Police Community Support Officers: 384
  • Other staff: 3,767

Scotland

Most areas of Policing in Scotland are done by the Scottish Government and Scottish Parliament, but some rights remain with the Scottish Office in the UK Government. These areas include national security, terrorism, firearms and drugs.

As of 1 April 2013, Policing in Scotland is the responsibility of the Police Service of Scotland.

In June 2004, police numbers in Scotland were 15,714. By the end of June 2012, police numbers had risen to 17,373. This shows a 10.56% increase in police numbers over this 8 year period.[3]

Northern Ireland

See the main article: Police Service of Northern Ireland

The Royal Ulster Constabulary was formed in 1922 to police the new Northern Ireland. It was renamed in 2001 following the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 undertaken by the Patten Commission.

In Northern Ireland, police powers have not been transferred to the Northern Ireland Executive as they have been in Scotland, instead they remain with the Northern Ireland Office in the UK Government.

  1. Police Service of Northern Ireland

In April 2007 police numbers in Northern Ireland were:[4]

  • Police officers: 7,244
  • Part time police officers: 888
  • Other staff: 2,701

The Police Service of Northern Ireland does not employ Police Community Support Officers.

References

  1. ↑ "Police numbers reach record high". Archived from the original on 2008-09-06. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Police service strength in England and Wales at September 2006" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2008-07-25.
  3. ↑ Police Officer Quarterly Strength Statistics Scotland
  4. ↑ "Police service strength" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-09-26. Retrieved 2008-07-25.

Further reading

Other websites