Road policing at 10-year low as car thefts almost double

Number of traffic officers is down by more than 1,000 since 2015

- Tom Jervis

THERE are now over 20 per cent fewer road police officers patrolling the streets than a decade ago, according analysis of the latest Home Office data by the RAC. But has this made our streets lawless and do the figures tell the whole story?

In 2015 there were 5,237 police officers across 43 forces in England and Wales whose primary role was designated as traffic policing – which includes ‘cop in car’ patrols or speed camera enforcement. Compare this to 2025, when that number has dropped to just 4,149, and it appears as if there has been a huge fall, despite the number of cars registered in Great Britain having risen by around 20 per cent since then.