Police workforce
Published
- 1. Navigate toMain facts and figures section
- 2. Navigate toThings you need to know section
- 3. Navigate to By ethnicity (police officers) section
- 4. Navigate to By ethnicity over time (police officers) section
- 5. Navigate to By ethnicity and area (police officers) section
- 6. Navigate to By ethnicity and rank over time (police officers) section
- 7. Navigate to By role and percentage of ethnic group (all police staff) section
- 8. Navigate to By ethnicity (special constables only) section
- 9. Navigate toData sources section
- 10. Navigate toDownload the data section
1. Main facts and figures
- on 31 March 2024, there were 147,746 ‘full-time equivalent’ police officers in England and Wales, and ethnicity was known for 143,686 of them (97.3%)
- 91.6% of police officers were White (where ethnicity was known)
- by comparison, 80.7% of working age people (16 to 64 year olds) in England and Wales were White at the time of the 2021 Census
- 3.8% of police officers were Asian – by comparison, 10.1% of working age people were Asian
- 6.5% of senior officers (chief inspector or above) were from the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups combined, compared with 2.8% in 2007
- between 2007 and 2024, the percentage of police officers from each of the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups went up – the biggest increase was in the Asian ethnic group, from 1.5% to 3.8%
2. Things you need to know
What the data measures
The data shows the number and percentage of people working for the police, by ethnicity. It covers the 43 police forces in England and Wales, and the British Transport Police.
The data comes from a snapshot taken on 31 March every year.
Percentages are based on 'full-time equivalent' (FTE) staff numbers. For example, someone who works 2.5 days a week has an FTE of 0.5.
There are separate figures for special constables, who are volunteers and not counted as part of the police workforce.
Percentages in the charts and tables are rounded to 1 decimal place.
Not included in the data
The data does not include staff whose ethnicity was not known. In 2024, ethnicity was not known for:
- 3.3% of the total police workforce (police officers, staff, designated officers and police community support officers)
- 2.7% of police officers
- 7.3% of special constables
- 33.5% of police support volunteers
Total figures for England and Wales do not include the British Transport Police. This is to be consistent with Home Office data releases.
The ethnic groups used in the data
Police officers and staff in England and Wales report their own ethnicity based on the list of 19 ethnic groups used in the 2021 Census.
In some of the data on this page, figures are shown for the following 5 aggregated ethnic groups:
- Asian
- Black
- Mixed
- White
- Other
This means estimates are shown for these groups as a whole. This is because the number of people was too small to make any reliable conclusions about any of the 19 ethnic groups used in the 2021 Census.
Before 2021, the Chinese ethnic group was part of the Other ethnic group. It is now part of the Asian ethnic group. While this makes it harder to make comparisons, the Home Office states that people from the Chinese ethnic group made up 0.2% of all police officers in 2024.
Methodology
Read the detailed methodology document for this data.
Population estimates come from the 2021 Census. Read more about how we use Census data and some of the problems involved. The data for England and Wales shows the working age population for each ethnic group. The data for each police force area shows the total population (as opposed to the working age population) for each police force area.
The Home Office used to publish data every 3 months on the number and diversity of police officers. This was based on actual officer numbers (‘headcount’) rather than FTE numbers. It still publishes diversity data every year in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistics. This data includes both FTE and headcount numbers.
In the data file
Download the data for additional headcount and FTE data from 2007 to 2024 by:
- police workforce area
- sex or gender
- rank
- role
For most years in this dataset data was collected on sex (male or female). Between 2021 and 2023 data on gender was collected instead of sex (male, female, prefer to self-describe, or prefer not to say).
3. By ethnicity (police officers)
| Police Officers | Working age population (Census 2021) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Police Officers % | Police Officers Number | Working age population (Census 2021) % | Working age population (Census 2021) Number |
| All | 100.0 | 143,686 | 100.0 | 37,502,985 |
| Asian | 3.8 | 5,474 | 10.1 | 3,787,330 |
| Bangladeshi | 0.4 | 639 | 1.1 | 428,365 |
| Chinese | 0.2 | 312 | 0.9 | 342,455 |
| Indian | 1.3 | 1,870 | 3.4 | 1,293,785 |
| Pakistani | 1.3 | 1,816 | 2.7 | 1,024,625 |
| Asian other | 0.6 | 836 | 1.9 | 698,100 |
| Black | 1.3 | 1,874 | 4.4 | 1,657,235 |
| Black African | 0.4 | 635 | 2.8 | 1,048,285 |
| Black Caribbean | 0.4 | 641 | 1.2 | 448,185 |
| Black other | 0.4 | 598 | 0.4 | 160,765 |
| Mixed | 2.6 | 3,740 | 2.5 | 920,415 |
| Mixed White and Asian | 0.8 | 1,191 | 0.6 | 240,095 |
| Mixed White and Black African | 0.2 | 325 | 0.3 | 122,135 |
| Mixed White and Black Caribbean | 0.8 | 1,088 | 0.8 | 290,965 |
| Mixed other | 0.8 | 1,137 | 0.7 | 267,220 |
| White | 91.6 | 131,553 | 80.7 | 30,258,110 |
| White British | 87.6 | 125,799 | 71.8 | 26,918,480 |
| White Irish | 0.7 | 1,010 | 0.8 | 318,465 |
| Gypsy or Irish Traveller | 0.0 | 42 | 0.1 | 42,165 |
| Roma | 0.0 | 4 | 0.2 | 80,455 |
| White other | 3.3 | 4,698 | 7.7 | 2,898,545 |
| Other | 0.7 | 1,045 | 2.3 | 879,895 |
| Arab | 0.1 | 79 | 0.6 | 221,325 |
| Other ethnic background | 0.7 | 966 | 1.8 | 658,570 |
| Unknown | N/A* | 4,060 | N/A* | N/A* |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity (police officers)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity (police officers)’ (CSV)
Summary of Police workforce By ethnicity (police officers) Summary
The data shows that, in 2024:
- there were 147,746 full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers in England and Wales, and ethnicity was known for 143,686 of them (97.3%)
- White people made up 91.6% of police officers (out of those whose ethnicity was known), and 80.7% of the working age population (16 to 64 year olds) according to the 2021 Census
- Asian people made up 3.8% of police officers, and 10.1% of the working age population
- people with Mixed ethnicity made up 2.6% of police officers, and 2.5% of the working age population
- Black people made up 1.3% of police officers, and 4.4% of the working age population
- people from the Other ethnic group made up 0.7% of police officers, and 2.3% of the working age population
4. By ethnicity over time (police officers)
| All | Asian | Black | Mixed | Other | White | Unknown | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time | All % of police officers | All Number of police officers (FTE) | Asian % of police officers | Asian Number of police officers (FTE) | Black % of police officers | Black Number of police officers (FTE) | Mixed % of police officers | Mixed Number of police officers (FTE) | Other % of police officers | Other Number of police officers (FTE) | White % of police officers | White Number of police officers (FTE) | Unknown % of police officers | Unknown Number of police officers (FTE) |
| 2007 | 100.0 | 139,883 | 1.5 | 2,111 | 1.0 | 1,350 | 1.0 | 1,419 | 0.5 | 632 | 96.1 | 134,372 | N/A* | 1,999 |
| 2008 | 100.0 | 139,784 | 1.6 | 2,231 | 1.0 | 1,371 | 1.1 | 1,525 | 0.5 | 656 | 95.9 | 134,000 | N/A* | 1,920 |
| 2009 | 100.0 | 141,939 | 1.7 | 2,472 | 1.0 | 1,427 | 1.2 | 1,699 | 0.5 | 689 | 95.6 | 135,651 | N/A* | 1,839 |
| 2010 | 100.0 | 141,935 | 1.8 | 2,607 | 1.0 | 1,446 | 1.3 | 1,844 | 0.5 | 745 | 95.3 | 135,293 | N/A* | 1,799 |
| 2011 | 100.0 | 137,485 | 1.9 | 2,582 | 1.0 | 1,442 | 1.3 | 1,838 | 0.5 | 754 | 95.2 | 130,870 | N/A* | 1,625 |
| 2012 | 100.0 | 132,242 | 2.0 | 2,607 | 1.1 | 1,420 | 1.4 | 1,871 | 0.6 | 766 | 95.0 | 125,579 | N/A* | 1,858 |
| 2013 | 100.0 | 127,623 | 2.0 | 2,563 | 1.1 | 1,361 | 1.5 | 1,865 | 0.6 | 749 | 94.9 | 121,086 | N/A* | 1,961 |
| 2014 | 100.0 | 125,785 | 2.1 | 2,665 | 1.1 | 1,352 | 1.5 | 1,922 | 0.6 | 776 | 94.7 | 119,071 | N/A* | 2,124 |
| 2015 | 100.0 | 124,739 | 2.2 | 2,795 | 1.1 | 1,373 | 1.6 | 2,028 | 0.6 | 785 | 94.4 | 117,757 | N/A* | 2,079 |
| 2016 | 100.0 | 121,655 | 2.4 | 2,881 | 1.2 | 1,433 | 1.7 | 2,096 | 0.7 | 808 | 94.1 | 114,437 | N/A* | 2,411 |
| 2017 | 100.0 | 120,516 | 2.6 | 3,104 | 1.2 | 1,432 | 1.8 | 2,185 | 0.7 | 841 | 93.7 | 112,953 | N/A* | 2,616 |
| 2018 | 100.0 | 119,357 | 2.7 | 3,266 | 1.2 | 1,424 | 1.9 | 2,309 | 0.7 | 852 | 93.4 | 111,506 | N/A* | 3,048 |
| 2019 | 100.0 | 120,041 | 2.9 | 3,476 | 1.2 | 1,493 | 2.1 | 2,473 | 0.7 | 889 | 93.1 | 111,710 | N/A* | 3,148 |
| 2020 | 100.0 | 125,710 | 3.1 | 3,884 | 1.3 | 1,586 | 2.2 | 2,711 | 0.8 | 993 | 92.7 | 116,536 | N/A* | 3,400 |
| 2021 | 100.0 | 131,806 | 3.4 | 4,512 | 1.3 | 1,695 | 2.3 | 3,043 | 0.6 | 795 | 92.4 | 121,760 | N/A* | 3,496 |
| 2022 | 100.0 | 136,274 | 3.7 | 5,002 | 1.3 | 1,778 | 2.5 | 3,382 | 0.7 | 892 | 91.9 | 125,221 | N/A* | 3,954 |
| 2023 | 100.0 | 143,207 | 3.8 | 5,423 | 1.3 | 1,884 | 2.6 | 3,691 | 0.7 | 968 | 91.6 | 131,241 | N/A* | 4,226 |
| 2024 | 100.0 | 143,686 | 3.8 | 5,474 | 1.3 | 1,874 | 2.6 | 3,740 | 0.7 | 1,045 | 91.6 | 131,553 | N/A* | 4,060 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity over time (police officers)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity over time (police officers)’ (CSV)
Summary of Police workforce By ethnicity over time (police officers) Summary
The data shows that, between 2007 and 2024:
- the percentage of police officers from each of the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups all went up
- the largest increase in the percentage of police officers was for the Asian ethnic group, from 1.5% to 3.8%
- there were smaller increases in the percentage of police officers from the Black ethnic group (from 1.0% to 1.3%) and from the Other ethnic group (from 0.5% to 0.7%)
- the percentage of police officers who were White went down from 96.1% to 91.6%
5. By ethnicity and area (police officers)
| All | Asian | Black | Mixed | White | Other | Unknown | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geography | All % of police officers | All % of population | All Number of police officers (FTE) | Asian % of police officers | Asian % of population | Asian Number of police officers (FTE) | Black % of police officers | Black % of population | Black Number of police officers (FTE) | Mixed % of police officers | Mixed % of population | Mixed Number of police officers (FTE) | White % of police officers | White % of population | White Number of police officers (FTE) | Other % of police officers | Other % of population | Other Number of police officers (FTE) | Unknown % of police officers | Unknown % of population | Unknown Number of police officers (FTE) |
| All - Excluding BTP | 100.0 | 100.0 | 143,686 | 3.8 | 9.3 | 5,474 | 1.3 | 4.0 | 1,874 | 2.6 | 2.9 | 3,740 | 91.6 | 81.7 | 131,553 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 1,045 | N/A* | 4,060 | |
| Avon and Somerset | 100.0 | 100.0 | 3,072 | 0.7 | 3.5 | 22 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 14 | 2.7 | 2.5 | 83 | 95.9 | 90.8 | 2,945 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 8 | N/A* | 222 | |
| Bedfordshire | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,383 | 6.0 | 16.6 | 83 | 1.2 | 5.6 | 16 | 3.6 | 3.8 | 49 | 89.0 | 72.0 | 1,231 | 0.2 | 1.9 | 3 | N/A* | 76 | |
| British Transport Police | 100.0 | N/A* | 2,807 | 5.6 | N/A* | 157 | 2.7 | N/A* | 76 | 3.3 | N/A* | 91 | 88.3 | N/A* | 2,480 | 0.1 | N/A* | 3 | N/A* | 103 | |
| Cambridgeshire | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,709 | 1.9 | 7.9 | 32 | 0.8 | 2.1 | 14 | 2.3 | 3.0 | 39 | 94.9 | 85.4 | 1,622 | 0.2 | 1.7 | 3 | N/A* | 38 | |
| Cheshire | 100.0 | 100.0 | 2,339 | 0.8 | 2.3 | 18 | 0.3 | 0.6 | 8 | 1.0 | 1.6 | 24 | 97.8 | 94.8 | 2,287 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 3 | N/A* | 29 | |
| Cleveland | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,494 | 1.7 | 4.7 | 25 | 0.0 | 1.2 | 0 | 0.9 | 1.3 | 14 | 97.4 | 91.7 | 1,455 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 0 | N/A* | 20 | |
| Cumbria | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,352 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 7 | 0.1 | 0.2 | 2 | 0.4 | 0.8 | 6 | 98.9 | 97.6 | 1,337 | 0.0 | 0.3 | 0 | N/A* | 31 | |
| Derbyshire | 100.0 | 100.0 | 2,098 | 1.7 | 5.0 | 35 | 0.5 | 1.4 | 10 | 1.1 | 1.9 | 23 | 96.7 | 90.7 | 2,028 | 0.1 | 1.0 | 2 | N/A* | 25 | |
| Devon and Cornwall | 100.0 | 100.0 | 3,053 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 0 | 1.2 | 1.4 | 37 | 98.7 | 96.2 | 3,012 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 4 | N/A* | 578 | |
| Dorset | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,378 | 0.4 | 2.8 | 5 | 0.1 | 0.9 | 2 | 1.6 | 2.4 | 23 | 97.6 | 92.7 | 1,345 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 4 | N/A* | 63 | |
| Durham | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,361 | 0.8 | 1.7 | 11 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 2 | 1.1 | 1.0 | 15 | 97.9 | 96.4 | 1,332 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 1 | N/A* | 5 | |
| Dyfed-Powys | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,015 | 0.4 | 1.1 | 4 | 0.3 | 0.2 | 3 | 1.4 | 1.0 | 14 | 97.7 | 97.3 | 992 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 2 | N/A* | 279 | |
| Essex | 100.0 | 100.0 | 3,681 | 1.1 | 4.2 | 40 | 0.4 | 3.4 | 15 | 2.4 | 2.6 | 89 | 95.7 | 88.8 | 3,524 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 13 | N/A* | 82 | |
| Gloucestershire | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,247 | 0.7 | 2.9 | 9 | 0.4 | 1.2 | 5 | 1.7 | 2.2 | 21 | 97.0 | 93.1 | 1,210 | 0.2 | 0.7 | 2 | N/A* | 61 | |
| Greater Manchester | 100.0 | 100.0 | 8,082 | 5.8 | 13.6 | 472 | 0.9 | 4.7 | 76 | 2.5 | 3.0 | 206 | 90.3 | 76.4 | 7,296 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 32 | N/A* | 59 | |
| Gwent | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,464 | 1.5 | 2.9 | 22 | 0.5 | 0.8 | 7 | 1.5 | 1.5 | 22 | 96.2 | 94.2 | 1,408 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 5 | N/A* | 65 | |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 100.0 | 100.0 | 3,267 | 1.6 | 4.8 | 53 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 9 | 1.4 | 2.1 | 46 | 96.4 | 90.6 | 3,150 | 0.3 | 1.1 | 10 | N/A* | 117 | |
| Hertfordshire | 100.0 | 100.0 | 2,344 | 2.6 | 8.6 | 61 | 0.9 | 3.7 | 21 | 2.4 | 3.8 | 56 | 93.7 | 81.8 | 2,197 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 10 | N/A* | 90 | |
| Humberside | 100.0 | 100.0 | 2,324 | 0.9 | 2.1 | 20 | 0.3 | 0.8 | 8 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 16 | 97.7 | 95.0 | 2,271 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 10 | N/A* | 6 | |
| Kent | 100.0 | 100.0 | 4,087 | 1.3 | 4.7 | 54 | 0.4 | 3.1 | 18 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 75 | 96.1 | 88.6 | 3,928 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 13 | N/A* | 80 | |
| Lancashire | 100.0 | 100.0 | 3,473 | 3.4 | 10.4 | 118 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 4 | 2.2 | 1.6 | 76 | 94.1 | 86.6 | 3,267 | 0.2 | 0.8 | 8 | N/A* | 105 | |
| Leicestershire | 100.0 | 100.0 | 2,168 | 5.7 | 19.5 | 124 | 0.9 | 3.3 | 19 | 2.7 | 2.7 | 58 | 90.6 | 72.5 | 1,964 | 0.1 | 2.0 | 3 | N/A* | 80 | |
| Lincolnshire | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,165 | 0.6 | 1.6 | 7 | 0.4 | 0.6 | 5 | 1.1 | 1.3 | 13 | 97.8 | 96.0 | 1,139 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 1 | N/A* | 33 | |
| London, City of | 100.0 | 100.0 | 982 | 4.2 | 16.8 | 41 | 2.1 | 2.7 | 21 | 3.6 | 5.5 | 36 | 89.5 | 69.4 | 879 | 0.6 | 5.6 | 6 | N/A* | 13 | |
| Merseyside | 100.0 | 100.0 | 4,115 | 0.9 | 3.1 | 39 | 0.4 | 1.5 | 17 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 89 | 96.2 | 91.7 | 3,960 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 10 | N/A* | 57 | |
| Metropolitan Police | 100.0 | 100.0 | 33,646 | 7.4 | 20.7 | 2,502 | 3.8 | 13.5 | 1,265 | 4.3 | 5.7 | 1,460 | 82.3 | 53.7 | 27,689 | 2.2 | 6.3 | 729 | N/A* | 669 | |
| Norfolk | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,879 | 0.4 | 2.1 | 7 | 0.6 | 0.9 | 11 | 1.7 | 1.6 | 32 | 97.3 | 94.7 | 1,828 | 0.1 | 0.7 | 2 | N/A* | 17 | |
| North Wales | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,706 | 0.2 | 1.4 | 3 | 0.1 | 0.3 | 1 | 0.9 | 1.1 | 15 | 98.8 | 96.8 | 1,686 | 0.1 | 0.4 | 1 | N/A* | 14 | |
| North Yorkshire | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,663 | 0.8 | 1.9 | 13 | 0.4 | 0.5 | 6 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 20 | 97.4 | 95.7 | 1,620 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 4 | N/A* | 18 | |
| Northamptonshire | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,487 | 1.6 | 4.2 | 24 | 0.7 | 3.7 | 11 | 1.9 | 2.5 | 28 | 93.4 | 88.7 | 1,389 | 2.4 | 0.9 | 36 | N/A* | 0 | |
| Northumbria | 100.0 | 100.0 | 3,726 | 1.2 | 4.2 | 45 | 0.1 | 1.2 | 5 | 1.3 | 1.3 | 50 | 97.1 | 92.1 | 3,616 | 0.3 | 1.2 | 10 | N/A* | 119 | |
| Nottinghamshire | 100.0 | 100.0 | 2,400 | 3.2 | 6.3 | 78 | 1.0 | 3.7 | 23 | 2.4 | 3.1 | 57 | 93.3 | 85.4 | 2,240 | 0.1 | 1.5 | 2 | N/A* | 19 | |
| South Wales | 100.0 | 100.0 | 3,346 | 1.2 | 4.3 | 39 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 9 | 1.8 | 2.1 | 61 | 96.3 | 90.7 | 3,223 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 14 | N/A* | 187 | |
| South Yorkshire | 100.0 | 100.0 | 3,058 | 1.5 | 5.8 | 44 | 0.4 | 2.5 | 12 | 1.3 | 2.2 | 38 | 96.8 | 87.7 | 2,961 | 0.1 | 1.8 | 2 | N/A* | 15 | |
| Staffordshire | 100.0 | 100.0 | 2,003 | 1.8 | 4.8 | 37 | 0.7 | 1.2 | 15 | 1.5 | 1.9 | 30 | 95.8 | 91.3 | 1,919 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 2 | N/A* | 10 | |
| Suffolk | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,379 | 0.5 | 2.1 | 7 | 0.2 | 1.1 | 3 | 2.2 | 2.1 | 30 | 97.0 | 93.9 | 1,338 | 0.1 | 0.8 | 1 | N/A* | 21 | |
| Surrey | 100.0 | 100.0 | 2,237 | 2.2 | 7.7 | 50 | 0.6 | 1.7 | 13 | 2.9 | 3.4 | 64 | 93.8 | 85.5 | 2,099 | 0.5 | 1.7 | 11 | N/A* | 75 | |
| Sussex | 100.0 | 100.0 | 3,008 | 1.1 | 3.7 | 32 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 15 | 2.5 | 2.7 | 74 | 95.7 | 91.0 | 2,880 | 0.2 | 1.3 | 8 | N/A* | 176 | |
| Thames Valley | 100.0 | 100.0 | 4,864 | 2.8 | 12.4 | 134 | 0.7 | 3.3 | 32 | 2.7 | 3.5 | 133 | 93.5 | 79.0 | 4,548 | 0.3 | 1.8 | 17 | N/A* | 186 | |
| Warwickshire | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,106 | 3.4 | 6.3 | 37 | 0.5 | 1.3 | 5 | 1.3 | 2.3 | 14 | 94.5 | 89.1 | 1,045 | 0.5 | 1.0 | 5 | N/A* | 20 | |
| West Mercia | 100.0 | 100.0 | 2,484 | 1.2 | 2.7 | 29 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 6 | 1.7 | 1.7 | 41 | 96.7 | 94.2 | 2,403 | 0.2 | 0.6 | 5 | N/A* | 29 | |
| West Midlands | 100.0 | 100.0 | 7,915 | 9.0 | 22.9 | 716 | 1.4 | 8.1 | 112 | 3.6 | 4.2 | 285 | 85.6 | 61.4 | 6,778 | 0.3 | 3.5 | 24 | N/A* | 85 | |
| West Yorkshire | 100.0 | 100.0 | 5,909 | 6.1 | 15.9 | 363 | 0.5 | 3.1 | 31 | 2.7 | 2.8 | 158 | 90.3 | 76.6 | 5,339 | 0.3 | 1.7 | 18 | N/A* | 164 | |
| Wiltshire | 100.0 | 100.0 | 1,215 | 0.9 | 5.1 | 11 | 0.3 | 1.6 | 4 | 1.8 | 2.0 | 22 | 96.7 | 90.3 | 1,176 | 0.2 | 0.9 | 3 | N/A* | 25 | |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and area (police officers)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and area (police officers)’ (CSV)
Summary of Police workforce By ethnicity and area (police officers) Summary
In this summary, we use ‘ethnic minority backgrounds’ to refer to the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups. It does not include people from White ethnic minorities.
The data shows that, in 2024:
- 17.7% of Metropolitan Police officers were from ethnic minority backgrounds – the highest percentage out of all police force areas
- at the time of the 2021 Census, 46.2% of people in London were from ethnic minority backgrounds
- in the West Midlands, 14.4% of police officers and 38.6% of the general population were from ethnic minority backgrounds
- in Bedfordshire, 11.0% of police officers and 28.0% of the general population were from ethnic minority backgrounds
- police forces in Cumbria (1.1%) and North Wales (1.2%) had the lowest percentage of officers from ethnic minority backgrounds
6. By ethnicity and rank over time (police officers)
| All | Asian | Black | Mixed | White | Other | Unknown | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| rank | All % | All Number of Staff (FTE) | Asian % | Asian Number of Staff (FTE) | Black % | Black Number of Staff (FTE) | Mixed % | Mixed Number of Staff (FTE) | White % | White Number of Staff (FTE) | Other % | Other Number of Staff (FTE) | Unknown % | Unknown Number of Staff (FTE) |
| All Ranks | 100.0 | 143,686 | 2.2 | 5 | 1.3 | 3 | 0.9 | 2 | 95.6 | 219 | 0.3 | 1 | N/A* | 10 |
| Chief Officer | 100.0 | 229 | 0.8 | 3 | 1.9 | 7 | 1.7 | 6 | 95.3 | 343 | 0.8 | 887 | N/A* | 3,152 |
| Chief Superintendent | 100.0 | 360 | 2.6 | 27 | 0.8 | 8 | 1.9 | 20 | 94.4 | 969 | 0.5 | 11 | N/A* | 4,060 |
| Superintendent | 100.0 | 1,026 | 3.6 | 76 | 0.7 | 14 | 2.7 | 57 | 92.5 | 1,947 | 0.0 | 0 | N/A* | 16 |
| Chief Inspector | 100.0 | 2,105 | 2.6 | 171 | 0.8 | 56 | 1.8 | 117 | 94.3 | 6,277 | 0.5 | 108 | N/A* | 606 |
| Inspector | 100.0 | 6,657 | 3.0 | 652 | 1.0 | 217 | 2.2 | 480 | 93.2 | 20,028 | 0.2 | 2 | N/A* | 38 |
| Sergeant | 100.0 | 21,484 | 4.1 | 4,539 | 1.4 | 1,569 | 2.7 | 3,059 | 91.0 | 101,770 | 0.5 | 36 | N/A* | 177 |
| Constable | 100.0 | 111,825 | 3.8 | 5,474 | 1.3 | 1,874 | 2.6 | 3,740 | 91.6 | 131,553 | 0.7 | 1,045 | N/A* | 61 |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity and rank over time (police officers)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity and rank over time (police officers)’ (CSV)
Summary of Police workforce By ethnicity and rank over time (police officers) Summary
We use ‘ethnic minority backgrounds’ to refer to the Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic groups. It does not include people from White ethnic minorities.
‘Senior officers’ include chief officers, chief superintendents, superintendents and chief inspectors.
The data shows that:
- between 2007 and 2024, the percentage of police constables from ethnic minority backgrounds went up from 4.3% to 9.0%
- the percentage of inspectors from ethnic minority backgrounds went up from 2.5% to 5.7%
- in 2024, there was a higher percentage of constables (9.0%) than senior officers (6.5%) from ethnic minority backgrounds
7. By role and percentage of ethnic group (all police staff)
| Police Officer | Police Community Support Officer | Police Staff and Designated Officers | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Police Officer % | Police Officer Number of Staff (FTE) | Police Community Support Officer % | Police Community Support Officer Number of Staff (FTE) | Police Staff and Designated Officers % | Police Staff and Designated Officers Number of Staff (FTE) |
| All | 62.9 | 143,686 | 3.2 | 7,303 | 33.9 | 77,495 |
| Asian | 58.7 | 5,474 | 5.1 | 471 | 36.3 | 3,385 |
| Bangladeshi | 60.0 | 639 | 8.1 | 86 | 32.0 | 341 |
| Chinese | 64.8 | 312 | 1.8 | 9 | 33.3 | 161 |
| Indian | 52.6 | 1,870 | 4.0 | 140 | 43.4 | 1,542 |
| Pakistani | 65.1 | 1,816 | 5.7 | 160 | 29.1 | 812 |
| Asian other | 58.0 | 836 | 5.3 | 76 | 36.8 | 530 |
| Black | 48.9 | 1,874 | 6.2 | 237 | 44.9 | 1,719 |
| Black African | 49.7 | 635 | 8.5 | 108 | 41.8 | 534 |
| Black Caribbean | 46.9 | 641 | 4.9 | 67 | 48.2 | 660 |
| Black other | 50.5 | 598 | 5.2 | 62 | 44.3 | 525 |
| Mixed | 73.3 | 3,740 | 2.9 | 147 | 23.8 | 1,215 |
| Mixed White and Asian | 76.0 | 1,191 | 2.3 | 36 | 21.7 | 340 |
| Mixed White and Black African | 72.6 | 325 | 5.1 | 23 | 22.4 | 100 |
| Mixed White and Black Caribbean | 72.3 | 1,088 | 2.4 | 36 | 25.4 | 382 |
| Mixed other | 71.8 | 1,137 | 3.3 | 53 | 24.8 | 393 |
| White | 63.1 | 131,553 | 3.0 | 6,350 | 33.9 | 70,730 |
| White British | 63.0 | 125,799 | 3.0 | 5,903 | 34.0 | 67,848 |
| White Irish | 67.7 | 1,010 | 2.2 | 33 | 30.0 | 448 |
| Gypsy or Irish Traveller | 71.5 | 42 | 6.8 | 4 | 21.7 | 13 |
| Roma | 50.0 | 4 | 25.0 | 2 | 25.0 | 2 |
| White other | 62.4 | 4,698 | 5.4 | 408 | 32.1 | 2,420 |
| Other | 65.8 | 1,045 | 6.1 | 98 | 28.1 | 447 |
| Arab | 63.2 | 79 | 3.6 | 4 | 33.2 | 41 |
| Other ethnic background | 66.0 | 966 | 6.4 | 93 | 27.7 | 405 |
| Unknown | 52.4 | 4,060 | 3.4 | 264 | 44.2 | 3,423 |
Download table data for ‘By role and percentage of ethnic group (all police staff)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By role and percentage of ethnic group (all police staff)’ (CSV)
Summary of Police workforce By role and percentage of ethnic group (all police staff) Summary
Data for police staff and designated officers has been combined. This is because some police forces are unable to provide separate figures.
Designated officer roles typically involve being assigned to specific investigations, custody, detentions, and escort duties.
The data shows that, for 2024:
- in every ethnic group except the Black ethnic group (48.9%), at least 50% of police staff were police officers
- 73.3% of employees in the Mixed ethnic group were police officers
- 44.9% of Black employees, and 33.9% of White employees were working in police staff or designated officer roles
8. By ethnicity (special constables only)
| Special Constable | Working age population (Census 2021) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ethnicity | Special Constable % | Special Constable Headcount | Working age population (Census 2021) % | Working age population (Census 2021) Headcount |
| All | 100.0 | 5,669 | 100.0 | 37,502,985 |
| Asian | 7.4 | 421 | 10.1 | 3,787,330 |
| Bangladeshi | 0.8 | 48 | 1.1 | 428,365 |
| Chinese | 0.6 | 34 | 0.9 | 342,455 |
| Indian | 2.6 | 149 | 3.4 | 1,293,785 |
| Pakistani | 2.3 | 128 | 2.7 | 1,024,625 |
| Asian other | 1.1 | 62 | 1.9 | 698,100 |
| Black | 2.2 | 126 | 4.4 | 1,657,235 |
| Black African | 0.8 | 46 | 2.8 | 1,048,285 |
| Black Caribbean | 0.7 | 37 | 1.2 | 448,185 |
| Black other | 0.8 | 43 | 0.4 | 160,765 |
| Mixed | 2.4 | 136 | 2.5 | 920,415 |
| Mixed White and Asian | 0.9 | 49 | 0.6 | 240,095 |
| Mixed White and Black African | 0.3 | 16 | 0.3 | 122,135 |
| Mixed White and Black Caribbean | 0.5 | 30 | 0.8 | 290,965 |
| Mixed other | 0.7 | 41 | 0.7 | 267,220 |
| White | 86.3 | 4,891 | 80.7 | 30,258,110 |
| White British | 78.7 | 4,464 | 71.8 | 26,918,480 |
| White Irish | 0.7 | 38 | 0.8 | 318,465 |
| Gypsy or Irish Traveller | 0.0 | 0 | 0.1 | 42,165 |
| Roma | 0.0 | 0 | 0.2 | 80,455 |
| White other | 6.9 | 389 | 7.7 | 2,898,545 |
| Other | 1.7 | 95 | 2.3 | 879,895 |
| Arab | 0.2 | 11 | 0.6 | 221,325 |
| Other ethnic background | 1.5 | 84 | 1.8 | 658,570 |
| Unknown | N/A* | 449 | N/A* | N/A* |
Download table data for ‘By ethnicity (special constables only)’ (CSV) Source data for ‘By ethnicity (special constables only)’ (CSV)
Summary of Police workforce By ethnicity (special constables only) Summary
Special constables are unpaid volunteers with no fixed hours. The data includes the total number of part-time and full-time special constables.
The data shows that:
- 13.7% of special constables were from Asian, Black, Mixed and Other ethnic backgrounds – a higher percentage than for any other role
9. Data sources
Source
Police Workforce, England and Wales, 31 March 2024
Type of data
Administrative data
Type of statistic
Accredited official statistics
Publisher
Home Office
Publication frequency
Yearly
Purpose of data source
Ethnicity and gender data is used by police forces as part of diversity monitoring schemes.
10. Download the data
The file contains the following: Measure, Time, Time_type, Geography_code, Geography, Geography_type, Region, Gender, Gender_type, Role, Rank, Ethnicity, Ethnicity_type, Headcount, FTE, FTE_Denominator, Proportion of workforce population (FTE) represented by this ethnicity (Given Year, Rank and PFA), Population by ethnicity and PFA (based on 2021 Census), Rate per 100,000 population (2021 Census) by ethnicity and PFA (Based on FTE, except for Special Constables and Police Support Volunteers), Total FTE For Ethnic Group Within PFA, Percentage of ethnic workforce population within PFA represented by rank
The file contains the following: Measure, Time, Time_type, Geography_code, Geography, Geography_type, Region, Gender, Gender_type, Role, Rank, Ethnicity, Ethnicity_type, Headcount, FTE, FTE_Denominator, Proportion of workforce population (FTE) represented by this ethnicity (Given Year, Rank and PFA), Population by ethnicity and PFA (based on 2021 Census), Rate per 100,000 population (2021 Census) by ethnicity and PFA (Based on FTE, except for Special Constables and Police Support Volunteers), Total FTE For Ethnic Group Within PFA, Percentage of ethnic workforce population within PFA represented by rank
The file contains the following: Measure, Time, Time_type, Geography_code, Geography, Geography_type, Region, Gender, Gender_type, Role, Rank, Ethnicity, Ethnicity_type, Headcount, FTE, FTE_Denominator, Proportion of workforce population (FTE) represented by this ethnicity (Given Year, Rank and PFA), Population by ethnicity and PFA (based on 2021 Census), Rate per 100,000 population (2021 Census) by ethnicity and PFA (Based on FTE, except for Special Constables and Police Support Volunteers), Total FTE For Ethnic Group Within PFA, Percentage of ethnic workforce population within PFA represented by rank
The file contains the following: Measure, Time, Time_type, Geography_code, Geography, Geography_type, Region, Gender, Gender_type, Role, Rank, Ethnicity, Ethnicity_type, Headcount, FTE, FTE_Denominator, Proportion of workforce population (FTE) represented by this ethnicity (Given Year, Rank and PFA), Population by ethnicity and PFA (based on 2021 Census), Rate per 100,000 population (2021 Census) by ethnicity and PFA (Based on FTE, except for Special Constables and Police Support Volunteers), Total FTE For Ethnic Group Within PFA, Percentage of ethnic workforce population within PFA represented by rank
The file contains the following: Measure, Time, Time_type, Geography_code, Geography, Geography_type, Region, Gender, Gender_type, Role, Rank, Ethnicity, Ethnicity_type, Headcount, FTE, FTE_Denominator, Proportion of workforce population (FTE) represented by this ethnicity (Given Year, Rank and PFA), Population by ethnicity and PFA (based on 2021 Census), Rate per 100,000 population (2021 Census) by ethnicity and PFA (Based on FTE, except for Special Constables and Police Support Volunteers), Total FTE For Ethnic Group Within PFA, Percentage of ethnic workforce population within PFA represented by rank
The file contains the following: Measure, Time, Time_type, Geography_code, Geography, Geography_type, Region, Gender, Gender_type, Role, Rank, Ethnicity, Ethnicity_type, Headcount, FTE, FTE_Denominator, Proportion of workforce population (FTE) represented by this ethnicity (Given Year, Rank and PFA), Population by ethnicity and PFA (based on 2021 Census), Rate per 100,000 population (2021 Census) by ethnicity and PFA (Based on FTE, except for Special Constables and Police Support Volunteers), Total FTE For Ethnic Group Within PFA, Percentage of ethnic workforce population within PFA represented by rank
The file contains the following: Measure, Time, Time_type, Geography_code, Geography, Geography_type, Region, Sex, Role, Rank, Ethnicity, Ethnicity_type, Headcount, FTE, FTE_Denominator, Proportion of workforce population (FTE) represented by this ethnicity (Given Year, Rank and PFA), Population by ethnicity and PFA (based on 2021 Census), Rate per 100,000 population (2021 Census) by ethnicity and PFA (Based on FTE, except for Special Constables and Police Support Volunteers), Total FTE For Ethnic Group Within PFA, Percentage of ethnic workforce population within PFA represented by rank