Facts on The police

Police officer numbers in England and Wales

The number of police officers has dropped by 20,600 since 2010.

Don’t compare Labour and Conservative costings for police recruitment

Labour’s costing for more police officers appears smaller because it doesn’t take into account recruitment or training.

Does stop and search work?

Discussion of stop and search focuses on its use as a crime deterrent. But this ignores its use as an investigatory power.

Are assaults on police officers rising?

We know that all recorded assaults have risen since last year, but we can’t compare them to previous years before that.

Police numbers under Boris Johnson’s time as Mayor

Police officer numbers fluctuated during Boris Johnson’s time as Mayor of London.

Metropolitan police taking part in London Pride were on duty

The Metropolitan police in the parade were in full uniform with personal protection equipment and radios and so could have dealt with any incidents.

No, water cannon will not be deployed at the pro-Brexit march

The Met Police does not own any water cannon and their use is not currently authorised in England and Wales.

What’s happening to knife crime?

No single figure can perfectly capture trends in knife crime. Here we present a range of measures.

BBC Question Time: Recap and Factcheck

Question Time on 8 November came from Dulwich, London. topics covered included whether stop and search could be used to tackle knife crime, if the country could unite around a Brexit deal, and if burning a model of Grenfell Tower should be considered a crime.

BBC Question Time: Recap and Factcheck

Question Time on 1 November came from Clacton-on-Sea. Topics covered included income tax changes, austerity, early elections, policing priorities, and the impact on Brexit of the investigation into Arron Banks.