Record number of officers for Cambridgeshire Police - despite scores leaving force

A record number of police officers voluntarily resigned from Cambridgeshire Constabulary last year, new figures show – but the force says it still has its highest ever number of officers.

The Police Federation of England and 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 72 full-time police officers voluntarily left Cambridgeshire Constabulary in the year to March. It is up from 51 the year before and the highest number since records began in 2006-07.

Including officers who retired or were fired, a total of 122 left the force last year.

It meant Cambridgeshire Constabulary had a leavers rate of 7.4%, excluding transfers to other forces.

However, a spokesperson for the force said: “These figures must also be seen in the context of the national 20,000 uplift, which has seen an unprecedented increase in officer numbers in Cambridgeshire, to their highest ever level.

“In March, the constabulary was one of the first forces in the country to announce it had met its uplift target, meaning we also have a greater proportion of young-in-service officers than ever before.”

The force have also said they are trying to understand the reasons why so many officers have left. The spokesperson said: “The reasons why officers leave us are varied and often unique to individuals but we are committed to learning more about them so we can reduce the leavers rate among police officers.

“We are now gathering better data, in line with a national retention strategy, which allows us to examine more closely the different factors and trends behind officers’ decisions to resign.”

Across England and Wales, a record high 4,575 full-time officers voluntarily resigned from policing last year. It was a 33% increase from 3,433 in 2021-22.

Overall, the leavers rate also reached its highest level at 6.6%.

Steve Hartshorn, Police Federation of England and Wales national chair, said the 'worrying' figures echo the concerns thousands of officers have been raising.

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."

He added: "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%.

It meant the headcount for all forces increased from 140,200 officers in March 2022 to 147,400 in March of this year.

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

In Cambridgeshire Constabulary, the force grew from 1,645 officers in 2022 to 1,731 in 2023.