Frontline policing has been left crippled by years of chronic underfunding, excessive workloads and an officer retention crisis that has plunged the public into increased danger, a damning new report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services has found. The Inspection into How Effectively the Police Investigate Crime report reveals that officer workloads have soared by more than 32% per constable since 2015, with some officers carrying unmanageable caseloads.

The inspection also found that over the past decade, police-recorded crime rates per 1,000 population have increased by 44%, whereas since 2010, after accounting for changes in the population, the number of police officers in England and Wales has decreased by 6%. The report finds that under these conditions, investigations are being delayed, evidence is being missed, and victims are being let down. Positive outcomes from police investigations have plummeted from 25% a decade ago to just 11% in 2024.

More than 9,000 officers quit in the year ending March 2023—the highest number on record.

The Police Federation which represents over 145,000 rank and file officers, warns that without urgent action the policing crisis will only deepen, leaving fewer experienced officers on the frontline and new recruits struggling to cope due to inadequate training and support.

Acting chair Tiff Lynch said: “Let’s be honest about what this report describes in brutal detail - a broken system that leaves the public less safe and a police service overworked, underpaid and under threat.

“Officers are leaving the job in record numbers because they simply cannot afford to stay and the price of doing the job is too high for their health. We are losing experience at an alarming rate, and that directly impacts how crimes are investigated and solved and victims supported. The word “inexperienced” is used a staggering 34 times in this report.

“If government have been honest about describing the NHS as a broken system full of heroes, they must do the same for policing.”

The report makes 11 recommendations to chief constables about more effective processes, better training and improved supervision of crime investigations.

The forces inspected included Cheshire Constabulary, Cumbria Constabulary, Essex Police, Greater Manchester Police, Norfolk Constabulary, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and West Midlands Police between May and July 2024.

His Majesty’s Inspector of Constabulary Lee Freeman said: “There is little in policing that is more important to the public than investigating crime.

“However, we found that all too often, investigators’ efforts are hampered by ineffective force processes which means that often forces don’t put victims first.

“It is evident that chief constables do not have sufficient resources to investigate all volume crime to a standard that they and the public wish to see.”