The Office of National Statistics states that approximately 274 000 people across the UK work in the Police Service. There are also approximately 13000, special constables, volunteer police officers,
There are presently 43 regional police forces in England and Wales and 8 regional police force in Scotland. Each one is headed by a chief constable (commissioner in Metropolitan and City of London Police).
Further information on individual police forces is available via http://www.police.uk
There are tripartite arrangements in England, Wales and Scotland for the governance of Policing.
Chief Officers of Police are responsible for the operational decisions and day to day running of their force. They are the employer of police officers for the purposes of health and safety legislation.
Police Authorities in England and Wales and Police Boards in Scotland the employers of police staff, not sworn officers, and are also responsible for ensuring that there is an effective and efficient police force for their area. Police authorities are independent bodies made up of local people and hold the chief officer and force to account for its delivery of local policing services. There is a police authority or board for each police force.