Official figures from the College of Policing show 735 officers were placed on the barred list in the year to 31 March 2025, up from 593 the year before, a rise of 24%. The College said the figure reflects ongoing efforts to remove officers whose behaviour falls below the standards expected by the service and by the public.

The total number of reasons recorded on the barred list was 1,149, as multiple grounds can apply to a single case. The most common grounds cited were dishonesty (126), discriminatory behaviour (95), unlawful access or disclosure of information (82), inappropriate communications (81) and sexual offences or misconduct (72). Other grounds included abuse of position for a sexual purpose (31), child sexual offences (21), involvement in a discriminatory WhatsApp group (45), domestic abuse or harassment (26) and drugs (44). Most additions were constables (640), with one chief officer and two chief superintendents also among those dismissed.

By force, the Metropolitan Police accounted for the most dismissals (183) out of a workforce of 33,293, followed by Greater Manchester Police (43/8,112), Thames Valley Police (40/5,000) and West Midlands Police (37/7,991). A March 2025 snapshot shows 146,442 full-time equivalent officers across 43 regional forces in England and Wales. The data also show 280 police staff and 31 specials added to the barred list, up from 233 and 29 respectively. For specials, the leading grounds were dishonesty (6), discriminatory behaviour (3) and sexual offences (4); for staff, dishonesty (42), unlawful access to or disclosure of information (40) and discriminatory behaviour (31).

Since December 2017, 2,834 police officers, 223 special constables and 1,268 police staff have been added to the barred list. In the year to March 2025, 125 officers and specials added came from a Black or other minority ethnic background (16% of 766 ethnicity-recorded cases) and 40 police staff. Government workforce data show 8.5% of officers were from minority ethnic groups in the year to 31 March 2025. Among those added to the list, 641 officers and specials were white, alongside 240 staff. Gender data show 133 officers and specials were female, 632 male and one person self-describes; 99 police staff were female and 181 male.

Assistant Chief Constable Tom Harding, director of operational standards at the College of Policing, said the figures demonstrate a strong effort by forces to remove employees whose behaviour breaches professional standards.