List of police forces of the United Kingdom

(Redirected from List of UK Police forces)

This is a list of the 45 territorial police forces and 3 special police forces of the United Kingdom. It does not include non-police law enforcement agencies or bodies of constables not constituted as police forces.

For a list of all law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom and its territories, see List of law enforcement agencies in the United Kingdom, Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories.

Map of the 45 territorial police areas in the UK

Table edit

Force Area served Number of police officers Budget (millions) Area size (km2) Formed Country/Region Legal jurisdiction Type
Avon and Somerset Police Unitary authorities of Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset, Somerset and South Gloucestershire 3,202[1] £326.6[2] 4,777 1974 South West England England and Wales Territorial police force
Bedfordshire Police Unitary authorities of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, and Luton 1,396[1] £122.5[2] 1,024 km2
(395 sq mi)
1966 East of England England and Wales Territorial police force
British Transport Police National Rail Network, London Underground, Docklands Light Railway, West Midlands Metro, London Trams, Tyne and Wear Metro (part), Glasgow Subway and London Cable car[3] 2,960[4] £319.17[5] 200[6] 1948 as BTCP On railway land (and also other areas upon request by another police force, and in certain other circumstances) in England, Wales, and Scotland Special police force
Cambridgeshire Constabulary County of Cambridgeshire and unitary authority of Peterborough 1,671[1] £156.2[2] 3,389 1965 East of England England and Wales Territorial police force
Cheshire Constabulary Unitary authorities of Cheshire East, Cheshire West and Chester, Halton, and Warrington 2,370[1] £208.0[2] 2,155 1857 North West England England and Wales Territorial police force
City of London Police City of London 970[1] £67.0[2] 2.6 1839 Greater London England and Wales Territorial police force
Civil Nuclear Constabulary Civilian nuclear facilities: Dounreay, Torness, Hunterston, Hartlepool, Sellafield, Heysham, Sizewell, Culham, Harwell, Hinkley Point, Dungeness[7] 1,310[a] £116.7[9] - 2005 Civilian nuclear sites and surrounding lands up to 5 km distant, and any such places as required when escorting nuclear materials in transit or pursuing or detaining suspects in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland Special police force
Cleveland Police Unitary authorities of Hartlepool, Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees 1,443[1] £143.5[2] 597 1974 North East England England and Wales Territorial police force
Cumbria Constabulary Unitary authorities of Cumberland and Westmorland and Furness 1,288[1] £117.8 6,768 1974 North West England England and Wales Territorial police force
Derbyshire Constabulary County of Derbyshire and unitary authority of Derby 2,038[1] £193.9[2] 2,625 1967 East Midlands England and Wales Territorial police force
Devon and Cornwall Police County of Devon and unitary authorities of Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly, Plymouth, and Torbay 3,515[1] £338.4[2] 10,270 1967 South West England England and Wales Territorial police force
Dorset Police Unitary authorities of Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole 1,380[1] £144.3[2] 2,653 1974 South West England England and Wales Territorial police force
Durham Constabulary Unitary authorities of County Durham and Darlington 1,295[1] £133.3[2] 2,676 1839 North East England England and Wales Territorial police force
Dyfed-Powys Police Principal areas of Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion, Pembrokeshire, and Powys 1,275[1] £115.5[2] 10,976 1968 Wales England and Wales Territorial police force
Essex Police County of Essex and unitary authorities of Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock 3,678[1] £320.2[2] 3,670 1969 East of England England and Wales Territorial police force
Gloucestershire Constabulary County of Gloucestershire 1,279[1] £126.9[2] 3,150 1839 South West England England and Wales Territorial police force
Greater Manchester Police Metropolitan county of Greater Manchester 8,550[1] £643.0[2] 1,276 1974 North West England England and Wales Territorial police force
Gwent Police Principal areas of Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport, and Torfaen 1,491[1] £142.2[2] 1,555 1967 Wales England and Wales Territorial police force
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary County of Hampshire and unitary authorities of the Isle of Wight, Portsmouth, and Southampton 3,302[1] £366.4[2] 4,149 1967 South East England England and Wales Territorial police force
Hertfordshire Constabulary County of Hertfordshire 2,261[1] £221.3[2] 1,643 1841 East of England England and Wales Territorial police force
Humberside Police Unitary authorities of East Riding of Yorkshire, Kingston upon Hull, North East Lincolnshire, and North Lincolnshire 2,192[1] £200.7[2] 3,517 1974 Yorkshire and the Humber England and Wales Territorial police force
Kent Police County of Kent and unitary authority of Medway 4,064[1] £338.4[2] 3,736 1857 South East England England and Wales Territorial police force
Lancashire Constabulary County of Lancashire and unitary authorities of Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool 3,369[1] £308.8[2] 3,075 1839 North West England England and Wales Territorial police force
Leicestershire Police County of Leicestershire and unitary authorities of Leicester and Rutland 2,335[1] £204.0[2] 2,538 1967 East Midlands England and Wales Territorial police force
Lincolnshire Police County of Lincolnshire 1,182[1] £131.6[2] 5,921 1856 East Midlands England and Wales Territorial police force
Merseyside Police Metropolitan county of Merseyside 4,093[1] £359.7[2] 645 1974 North West England England and Wales Territorial police force
Metropolitan Police Service Metropolitan Police District (London region excluding the City of London) 35,052[1] £2,939.9[2] 1,578 1829 Greater London England and Wales (includes Scotland and Northern Ireland for officers on close protection duties) Territorial police force
Ministry of Defence Police Critical Defence Sites, Designated Critical National Infrastructure, MOD Headquarters Whitehall, Trident, Atomic Weapons Establishment, GCHQ 2,594[b] £156.6[11] - 1971 Military buildings, property, and employees (as well as other areas upon request by another police force, and in certain other circumstances), in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland Special police force
Norfolk Constabulary County of Norfolk 1,921[1] £177.2[2] 5,371 1839 East of England England and Wales Territorial police force
North Wales Police Principal areas of Anglesey, Conwy, Denbighshire, Flintshire, Gwynedd, and Wrexham 1,652[1] £167.1[2] 6,172 1974 Wales England and Wales Territorial police force
Northamptonshire Police Unitary authorities of North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire 1,458[1] £146.2[2] 2,364 1966 East Midlands England and Wales Territorial police force
Northumbria Police Metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear and unitary authority of Northumberland 3,658[1] £307.1[2] 5,553 1974 North East England England and Wales Territorial police force
North Yorkshire Police Unitary authorities of North Yorkshire and the City of York 1,669[1] £166.2[2] 8,310 1974 Yorkshire and the Humber England and Wales Territorial police force
Nottinghamshire Police County of Nottinghamshire and unitary authority of Nottingham 2,401[1] £224.8[2] 2,160 1968 East Midlands England and Wales Territorial police force
Police Service of Northern Ireland Northern Ireland 6,772[12] £1,077.4[13] 13,843 2001 Northern Ireland Northern Ireland Territorial police force
Police Scotland Scotland 16,570[14] £1,064.8[15] 78,772 2013 Scotland Scotland Territorial police force
South Wales Police Principal areas of Bridgend, Cardiff, Merthyr Tydfil, Neath Port Talbot, Rhondda Cynon Taf, Swansea, and the Vale of Glamorgan 3,397[1] £315.8[2] 2,074 1969 Wales England and Wales Territorial police force
South Yorkshire Police Metropolitan county of South Yorkshire 3,022[1] £282.1[2] 1,552 1974 Yorkshire and the Humber England and Wales Territorial police force
Staffordshire Police County of Staffordshire and unitary authority of Stoke-on-Trent 1,913[1] £211.1[2] 2,713 1968 West Midlands England and Wales Territorial police force
Suffolk Constabulary County of Suffolk 1,387[1] £135.1[2] 3,801 1967 East of England England and Wales Territorial police force
Surrey Police County of Surrey 2,153[1] £249.4[2] 1,663 1851 South East England England and Wales Territorial police force
Sussex Police Non-metropolitan counties of East Sussex and West Sussex and unitary authority of Brighton and Hove 3,051[1] £309.9[2] 3,783 1968 South East England England and Wales Territorial police force
Thames Valley Police Non-metropolitan county of Oxfordshire and unitary authorities of Bracknell Forest, Buckinghamshire, Milton Keynes, Reading, Slough, Wokingham, West Berkshire, and Windsor and Maidenhead 4,772[1] £456.7[2] 5,742 1968 South East England England and Wales Territorial police force
Warwickshire Police County of Warwickshire 1,029[1] £109.9[2] 1,975 1840 West Midlands England and Wales Territorial police force
West Mercia Police County of Worcestershire and unitary authorities of Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Telford and Wrekin 2,358[1] £236.5[2] 7,408 1967 West Midlands England and Wales Territorial police force
West Midlands Police Metropolitan county of the West Midlands 7,715[1] £620.4[2] 902 1974 West Midlands England and Wales Territorial police force
West Yorkshire Police Metropolitan county of West Yorkshire 5,930[1] £485.0[2] 2,029 1974 Yorkshire and the Humber England and Wales Territorial police force
Wiltshire Police Unitary authorities of Swindon and Wiltshire 1,138[1] £127.7[2] 3,485 1839 South West England England and Wales Territorial police force
Total 174,415 £15,832
  1. ^ Number of police officers as of November 2016.[8]
  2. ^ Number of police officers is measured as full-time equivalent (FTE) for 31 March 2017.[10]

List of special police forces edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq "Police officer uplift, quarterly update to September 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap Figure includes cost of the Police and Crime Commissioner for each force, or equivalent. "Police Funding for England & Wales 2015-2021 (Statistical Bulletin 16/20)" (PDF). Home Office. July 2020. p. 14. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  3. ^ "About us". British Transport Police.
  4. ^ "Police workforce, England and Wales: 31 March 2022". GOV.UK. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  5. ^ "Policing Great Britain's Rail Network: Forcewide and Divisional Plans 2020/21" (PDF). British Transport Police Authority. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  6. ^ https://www.networkrail.co.uk/stories/latest-technology-to-improve-thousands-of-miles-of-biodiversity/
  7. ^ "CNC Jobs | Locations". cnc.jobs. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  8. ^ "CNC Workforce 2016 - a Freedom of Information request to Civil Nuclear Constabulary". WhatDoTheyKnow. 9 November 2016. Retrieved 24 September 2019.
  9. ^ FY 2019-20. "Civil Nuclear Police Authority Annual Report & Accounts 2019/20" (PDF). Civil Nuclear Police Authority. p. 25. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  10. ^ "Freedom of Information Act 2000: Police Numbers" (PDF). Ministry of Defence Police.
  11. ^ "Ministry of Defence Police Annual Business Plan 2020/21" (PDF). Ministry of Defence Police. p. 20. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  12. ^ "Strength of Police Service Statistics". PSNI. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  13. ^ "Annual Policing Plan for Northern Ireland 2019-20" (PDF). Northern Ireland Policing Board. p. 31. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Police officer quarterly strength statistics: 30 September 2022". www.gov.scot. Retrieved 5 January 2023.
  15. ^ "Scottish Police Authority Three Year Financial Plan 2018/19 to 2020/21". Police Scotland. Scottish Police Authority. Retrieved 6 November 2018.

External links edit