Today marks the 195th anniversary of Special Constables. Specials are vital volunteers in our police force helping to keep the public safe, and we're always looking for more. I thank those past and present, and encourage others to consider joining.

NEW Will it be 10? 15? Or 20? @ukhomeoffice has received Lord Hogan-Howe's report on police mergers... Ex-@metpoliceuk commissioner tasked with recommending "optimum size & configuration of police forces" in Eng/Wales... My thoughts on what follows: instituteforgovernment.org.u…

Police resources in England and Wales have been on a bumpy ride over the past 30 years. From a low point of 178,000 in 2000, the total workforce soared to a peak of nearly 245,000 in 2010. Numbers then dropped sharply to under 199,000 in 2017, before a partial recovery to nearly 236,600 in 2024. In the past two years, numbers have drifted downwards again. The workforce now totals just over 234,400. Police officer numbers have tracked those ups and downs. After a 2009 peak of nearly 143,800, by the end of Theresa May’s premiership in 2018, England and Wales had fewer officers than in 1998. Boris Johnson’s Uplift Programme directed funding into a major recruitment drive, and officer numbers soared to a record peak of over 147,700 in 2024. That level has been difficult to maintain, both financially and in terms of recruitment and retention. The number of officers has now slipped under 145,900. 📈Chart shows Total England & Wales police workforce 1996 to 2026 (FTE at financial year end) - source Police Workforce England and Wales Statistics, UK Home Office Read more analysis in the article from Policing Insight's Ian Wiggett: [SUBSCRIBER ARTICLE] policinginsight.com/feature/… 💡 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 '𝐔𝐊 𝐩𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭' 𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬. From austerity cuts to recruitment boosts and subsequent spikes in early service leavers, police officer numbers in England and Wales over the past decade have been a focus of concern. In this series launched in 2020, Ian Wiggett maps police workforce development in England and Wales since 2010, identifying major trends and significant challenges. In 2026 the series has been expanded to include police workforce statistics for Scotland and Northern Ireland. policinginsight.com/series/u… @Wiggett_IE @ukhomeoffice

Today we published our latest PEEL inspection for @Glos_Police. We found that the constabulary’s performance has declined in many areas since its last inspection, including how it is managed, how it protects vulnerable people and how well it investigates crime.

Highest Ocean Plastic Waste Polluters (Annual Estimation, Metric Tons) 🇵🇭 Philippines: 356,371 🇮🇳 India: 126,513 🇲🇾 Malaysia: 73,098 🇨🇳 China: 70,707 🇮🇩 Indonesia: 56,333 🇲🇲 Myanmar: 40,000 🇧🇷 Brazil: 37,799 🇻🇳 Vietnam: 28,221 🇧🇩 Bangladesh: 24,640 🇹🇭 Thailand: 22,806 🌍 Rest of the World: 176,012 Source: "More than 1000 rivers account for 80% of global riverine plastic emissions into the ocean," Lourens J. J. Meijer et al (2021), via science. org.

Behind the scenes on THE SHINING, Jack Nicholson psyches himself up for the famous "Here's Johnny" scene.

A recent report into the economic value of policing to businesses in England and Wales suggests that every £1 invested in policing generates around £10.70 in economic value for businesses, with a 10% increase in community policing likely to generate £13 billion in net economic benefits for businesses over three years – an estimate that researchers believe is conservative – as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports. [SUBSCRIBER ARTICLE] policinginsight.com/feature/…

Today marks the beginning of a new chapter for the Vancouver Police Department and the city we serve. For the first time since 1978, the #VPD will be able to fully develop the next generation of police officers from the day they join us through graduation and into their careers. Our new Police Academy will provide specialized, hands-on training to prepare recruits for the complex challenges of modern policing, including mental health and addictions, vulnerable populations, violent and organized crime, cybercrime, and public disorder. It allows us to develop recruits using the experience of Vancouver Police officers and to integrate classroom learning with realistic scenarios based on the challenges our members face every day. We want our officers to meet—and exceed—provincial standards and be ready to serve Vancouver from their very first day on the job. The success of this Academy won’t be measured by the facility. It will be measured by the quality of the officers who graduate from it. @VPDRecruiting

Honestly, if I were His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary, there is no way I would have released this, given recent events. The horrific crash in Cleveland which caused the deaths of two Police Officers; PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough and its aftermath, is a prime example that communities require a local policing model. Properly funded and executed by Officers who know their communities and have the financial and physical resources to deal with local issues, including serious and organised crime. Likewise over the weekend in Portsmouth, again a force which does not have the financial or physical resources to mobilise sufficient local public order asset when required, and had to rely on resources from elsewhere to deal with a very contentious, local issue. Policing has been systematically underfunded and dismantled since 2014 and it’s about time a report accepts it and accepts that merging forces is not going to fix the problem, if anything it’s going to make things far, far worse. Mergers will lead to ‘regional policing hubs’ which will see the closure of more police stations and officers being despatched to areas they don’t know purely to achieve statistical charter times, rather than to provide decent victim support. Mergers will lead to ‘cherry picking’ of which department deals with which jobs in certain geographical areas, causing a postcode lottery for how your crime is dealt with. Mergers will further devastate recruitment with applicants being told that they are a ‘regional resource’ and can be deployed hundreds of miles from where they live on a daily basis. How do I know all this? It’s already happened, it’s called ‘Police Scotland’. Like I said a few weeks ago, if you don’t say it at the time, you can’t complain about it after the fact. #ThinBlueLine 🚨

WTF? Jeremy Kyle says Southport Killer Axel Rudakubana is receiving over £1000 a month in benefits paid to him while he is in prison

Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones warns UK police funding is lagging far behind Europe. “There is an absolute problem here, which is the structural underfunding of policing in our country.”

A retiring chief constable has warned the prime minister against any cuts to local policing. Ben-Julian Harrington has called for his officers to be paid more, saying some were leaving the force for better-paid jobs in scaffolding and double-glazing. bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2dw…

A drive to create bigger regional police forces for England and Wales faces a significant delay after Lord Bernard Hogan-Howe, the former senior officer devising the plans, was told to revisit his proposals to fit in with Andy Burnham's devolution agenda. ft.com/content/9a60246e-30de…

🤪