Metropolitan Police: Retirement
The question
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what data her Department holds on the number of Metropolitan police officers who have left the service before retirement age in each year, due to the staff rotation policy of the metropolitan police.
Answered by Sarah Jones
The Home Office does not hold data on the number of police officers leaving the Metropolitan Police Service due to staff rotation policy.
The Home Office collects and publishes data annually on the number of police officers leaving the police service and their reasons for leaving, for each year ending 31 March, in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical bulletin which can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/police-workforce-england-and-wales.
Information on the number of police officers leaving the police service by reason for leaving and Police Force Area between the years ending 31 March 2007 and 2025 can be found in the ‘Leavers Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/687a364d312ee8a5f0806b7c/open-data-table-police-workforce-leavers-230725.ods
Information on the length of service of police officers leaving the police service by reason for leaving and Police Force Area, for the years ending 31 March 2024 and 2025 can be found in the ‘Length of Service Open Data Table’ here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6972562d3f2908a349040577/open-data-table-police-workforce-length-of-service-280126.ods
Reasons for leaving include normal retirement, medical retirement, voluntary resignation, dismissal or contract termination, voluntary exit scheme, death or transfer.
Data covering the year ending 31 March 2026 are scheduled for release on 22 July 2026.
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