Where are the safest cities in the UK and which have the most emergency workers?
On average across the UK, police forces receive a 999 call every 3 seconds. This shows an incredibly high demand for emergency services… But which regions have the most abundance of emergency workers?
In this report, we will investigate the number of registered police officers, ambulance staff and firefighters in each region and force, before revealing the regions with the most emergency workers.
The experts at Get Licensed also looked at the number of emergency calls to every police force in 2022, to discuss the UK areas with the greatest demand for police intervention. The number of SIA licence holders by area will also be discussed, to see how these professionals support the work of emergency service workers.
London Has The Most Emergency Workers in The UK, With 481 Per 100,000 People
- London Total Emergency Workers per 100,000: 481
London is the best-equipped region of the UK to deal with emergencies, with the highest number of emergency workers compared to its population at 481 per 100,000 people. London recorded the most police officers per person as of September 2022 with 403 per 100,000, and has 27 ambulance workers per 100,000 as well as 51 firefighters per 100,000 in the region.
- Wales Total Emergency Workers per 100,000: 385
In second place is Wales, with 385 total emergency workers per 100,000 people. Wales had among the highest number of police officers behind London at 249 per 100,000, though it had fewer firefighters than other regions at just 47 per 100,000 people.
- North East Total Emergency Workers per 100,000: 340
The North East region has the third highest number of emergency workers, with 340 per 100,000 people. The North East had the highest number of firefighters in the country at 64 per 100,000 and recorded a high number of police officers at 239 per 100,000 people.
Wales Has the Most Ambulance Staff in the UK, With 89 Workers Per 100,000 People
- Wales Ambulance Staff per 100,000 People: 89
Wales recorded the most ambulance workers per capita as of February 2023 with 2,749 emergency staff, equal to 89 per 100,000 people. During this month, around half of the Welsh ambulance workforce walked out and went on strike action over pay, which threatened to put further strain on the service. The Welsh Government offered health unions a 1.5% pay increase and a one-off payment of 1.5% of a worker’s salary. This was on top of a 4.5% already offered to workers in April 2022.
- West Midlands Ambulance Staff per 100,000 People: 46
The West Midlands region had the second highest number of ambulance staff per capita with 2,750 staff, equal to 46 per 100,000 people. This region covers seven cities; Birmingham, Coventry, Hereford, Lichfield, Stoke-on-Trent, Wolverhampton and Worcester.
Health union members working for the West Midlands Ambulance Service staged strike action in May 2023 after they rejected the government’s pay offer by 75%. The ballot result revealed high figures for those working on the frontline, and, according to Unite The Union, seven out of ten of all ambulance paramedics rejected the pay deal.
- South West Ambulance Staff per 100,000 People: 42
Ambulance staff in the South West took third place with a total 2,528 staff, equal to 42 per 100,000 people across the region. In January 2023, a critical incident was declared by the South West Ambulance Service as a result of significant demand. The strategic commander of the service asserted that the service remains under “significant pressure”.
Greater London has the Most Police Officers in the UK With 403 Officers per 100,000 People
- London Police Officers per 100,000 People: 403
London recorded the most police officers in its region, with 403 officers per 100,000. There are two main police forces that patrol London; The Metropolitan Police, which operates in the majority of the Greater London area, and the City of London Police, which is responsible for law enforcement within the largely financial “City” area, including the Middle and Inner Temples. There are a total of 35,475 officers across the region.
- North West Police Officers per 100,000 People: 249
The North West has the second-most police officers, with 249 per 100,000 people. The North West has five territorial police forces in its region: Greater Manchester Police, Cheshire Constabulary, Lancashire Constabulary, Merseyside Police and Cumbria Police.
- Wales Police Officers per 100,000 People: 249
Wales came joint second place for the number of police officers per capita, with a total of 7,738 full-time equivalents equalling 249 per 100,000 people. Wales has four police forces in the region: Gwent Police, South Wales Police, Dyfed-Powys Police and North Wales Police.
South Wales Police Records Highest Number of Officers in the UK, With 165 Officers per 100,000 People
- South Wales Police Police Staff per 100,000: 165
South Wales Police Force, headquartered in Bridgend, has the highest number of officers per capita out of any other police force in England and Wales, with 165 per 100,000. As the largest police force in Wales, with 3,361 officers, the force provides a policing service to over 1.3 million people (42% of the country’s population).
- South Yorkshire Police Police Staff per 100,000: 161
South Yorkshire Police, part of the Yorkshire and Humber region, recorded the second-highest number of officers at 161 per 100,000 people. The force covers 600 square miles across the county’s three boroughs of Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham, along with the City of Sheffield. South Yorkshire Police provides service to almost 1.4 million people.
- North Wales Police Police Staff per 100,000: 159
The North Wales Police force had the third highest abundance of officers, with 1,6400 serving a population of over 687,100 people. This means there are 159 officers in the area per 100,000 people.
North East Employs Most Firefighters in the UK With 64 Workers Per 100,000 People
- North East Firefighters per 100,000 People: 64
England’s North East region recorded the highest number of firefighters per capita with 64 per 100,000 people. There is a total of 1,706 full-time firefighters in the region providing fire and rescue services for almost 2.7 million people. The North East region has four fire brigades: Cleveland, Durham, Northumberland and Tyne and Wear.
- South West Firefighters per 100,000 People: 62
The South West ranked second, with 3,534 full-time firefighters providing fire and rescue services to a population of almost 5.8 million people, which is equal to 62 firefighters per 100,000. England’s South West region covers Avon, Cornwall, Devon & Somerset, Dorset & Wiltshire and Gloucestershire. The Isles of Scilly were excluded from the region owing to its small resident population.
- Eastern Region Firefighters per 100,000 People: 57
In third place is the East of England, which recorded a total of 3,615 full-time firefighters in its region, equal to 57 per 100,000 people. The Eastern Region’s fire brigades include Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Norfolk and Suffolk.
Cumbria Fire and Rescue Employs Most Firefighters in the UK With 99 Staff Per 100,000 People
- Cumbria Firefighters per 100,000 People: 99
In second place with the most firefighters per person served is Cumbria Fire & Rescue Service, whose 495 firefighters equal a rate of 99 per 100,000 local residents. Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service is a large rural service covering the Lake District to the Pennines in the east, and from the industrialised West Cumbrian coast to the estuaries in the south of the county.
- Cornwall Firefighters per 100,000 People: 96
Cornwall had the second-highest number of firefighters per capita with 552 firefighters providing services to its population of 573,299 people, which is equal to a rate of 96 per 100,000.
- Shropshire Firefighters per 100,000 People: 84
Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service had the third-highest number of firefighters per capita with 495 firefighters (equal to 84 per 100,000 people). The headquarters, based in Shrewsbury, provides fire and rescue services to Shropshire’s resident population of almost 507,000 people.
West Midlands Police Receives Most 999 Calls in England, With 24,116 Calls Per 100,000 People in 2022
- West Midlands Police Total Calls per 100,000 People: 24,116
West Midlands Police received 24,116 (per 100,000) emergency calls in 2022 which is very high compared to other UK police forces. In 2022, it was found that West Midlands Police took an average of 37 seconds to answer 99 calls – which is far longer than the force’s own target of ten seconds.
- Metropolitan Police Service Total Calls per 100,000 People: 22,830
The Metropolitan Police Service, which is responsible for law enforcement and the prevention of crime within the ceremonial county of Greater London, recorded 22,830 (per 100,000) emergency calls in 2022. The London Ambulance Service also receives a high rate of calls with an average of 6,500 calls a day, a significant rise compared to pre-pandemic averages of around 5,500 a day.
- West Yorkshire Police Total Calls per 100,000 People: 19,967
West Yorkshire Police received a total of 684,622 emergency calls in 2022 (19,967 per 100,000). In February 2023, West Yorkshire Police ranked as the top force in the UK for 999 call performance, according to figures released by BT, which showed that the force’s contact management centre answered 999 calls in an average of 6.42 seconds.
Most 999 Calls in The UK Are During Summer – and July is Most Demanding Month For Emergency Services
Analysis of police data on emergency calls across the country revealed that July recorded the most 999 calls out of any other month in 2022, with 1,045,458 calls made. The high number of calls in July highlights the increased pressure that emergency services are often put under during the summer months, with much greater demand from the public.
London Has Most SIA Licence Holders in The UK with 113,000 in Security Industry
The security industry helps support emergency services on a daily basis, by keeping members of the public safe and ensuring adequate security measures are in place. The sector has plenty of opportunities to help protect your community and support local businesses and nightlife, and with over 60,000 vacancies in this booming industry, now is a great time to make a career change.
With almost 300,000 security companies across the UK and nearly 400,000 qualified Security Industry Authority licence holders, Get Licensed is home to everything you need to get started in security, from booking SIA courses to helping you pass the first time and find a job.
- London Number of SIA Licence Holders: 112,684
London recorded the highest number of SIA licence holders with almost 113,000 staff in the city. All security staff in the UK must hold the correct SIA licence before being hired for private security work. The Security Industry Authority (SIA) is the public body that regulates the private security industry in the United Kingdom.
- Manchester Number of SIA Licence Holders: 26,663
Manchester has 26,663 licence holders as of May 2023. In 2022, Manchester Airport received over 8,000 applications and hired more than a thousand recruits as it raced to bolster its workforce for summer.
- Slough and Heathrow Number of SIA Licence Holders: 23,634
The region of Slough and Heathrow came third for its SIA licence holders with 23,634 security staff. In May 2023, Heathrow Airport passengers experienced travel disruption as security officers staged a series of walkouts. Passengers at the airport were warned to limit their hand luggage as security staff strike over fair pay.
Methodology
To find out the safest cities in the UK, we looked at the number of registered emergency workers by looking at the following factors:
The number of full-time equivalent police officers according to GOV.UK on the 30th September 2022. The resident population was taken from the ONS.
The number of ambulance staff according to the NHS for the month of February 2023. The data for the North East includes part of North Cumbria. The resident population was taken from the ONS.
Full-time firefighters in 2022 by fire brigade according to Statista. The population by nation and area was taken from GOV.UK. The Isles of Scilly were excluded due to having a significantly lower population than other areas, which skews the results.
The number of emergency calls across the UK was taken from Police.uk for the year 2022.
The number of SIA licence holders was taken from GOV.UK for the month of May 2023.
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