Police Scotland officer numbers rise to more than 16,000 – figures

Police Scotland’s officer numbers increased in the final three months of 2024, rising to 16,508 full-time equivalent roles.

The latest quarterly statistics show a 0.5% increase from the second quarter of 2024.

The force’s officer numbers fell to their lowest level since 2007 in the middle of last year, but have rebounded since then.

The Scottish Government’s chief statistician noted the current numbers are higher than the same period last year.

Officer numbers fell sharply from more than 17,200 in late 2021.

Last year, the justice affairs magazine, 1919, obtained freedom of information data showing 945 members of the police are coming up for retirement before the summer of 2025.

The Scottish Police Federation (SPF), which represents rank and file officers, warned that Police Scotland’s strength would suffer if recruitment did not keep up with the retirement rate.

A Police Scotland spokeswoman said on Tuesday: said: “Our recruitment pipeline is healthy and the latest intake of probationary constables brought officer establishment to 16,614.

“We are recruiting 1,300 officers this financial year, with a further 200 probationers scheduled for our next intake in March to keep numbers at our budgeted establishment levels of around 16,600.”