The police

Fact checks relating to the police, policing, funding of the police service and public perceptions of crime

26 April 2023

Government claims on police officer numbers don’t tell the whole story

Newly released figures show the government has reached its target of recruiting 20,000 more police officers since 2019. This is roughly the same number of officers lost between 2010 and 2017.

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20 January 2022

Met Police has not launched an investigation into the Covid-19 vaccine programme

Posts on Facebook falsely claim that the Metropolitan Police is investigating the Covid-19 vaccine programme.

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8 November 2021

Police have not said a West Midlands teen was "murdered" with a Covid-19 vaccine

A video on Facebook wrongly claims police have “agreed” that a teenager was killed with a Covid-19 vaccine

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8 October 2021

Most police have not been found guilty of sexual misconduct

This claim comes from confusion over another statistic, about the proportion of those in one force found to have committed sexual misconduct who kept their jobs.

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24 June 2021

Facebook post about poppy graffiti on mosque is misleading

A Facebook post about two men who defaced a mosque with a poppy picture doesn’t say what other offences they admitted.

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15 June 2021

More than 30 people are allowed to protest

Under current Covid-19 regulations, more than 30 people can protest in England if it has been organised by an accepted body and risk assessments have taken place.

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14 May 2021

A George Floyd mural in Manchester was not chosen over a Lee Rigby memorial

A Facebook post falsely claims that Manchester councillors approved a George Floyd mural over one of Lee Rigby.

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29 April 2021

Police cars don’t need MOT registration

Some categories of vehicles, including police vehicles, don’t have to have an up-to-date MOT registration.

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26 March 2021

Police confirm officers did not suffer broken bones at Bristol protest

Avon and Somerset police initially said one officer had a broken arm and another had broken ribs.

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24 March 2021

Burnt-out police car in Bristol protests was not fake

An image of a burnt-out police car taken during protests in Bristol is not ‘a prop’

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