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Gloucestershire Constabulary

South West · Territorial force · 1,250 officers

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Key Statistics

Officers

1,250

Staff

600

Area (sq miles)

1,025

Population served

640,000

About Gloucestershire Constabulary

Covering Gloucester, Cheltenham and the Cotswolds. A picturesque rural force area with GCHQ providing unique specialist policing partnerships and career opportunities.

Founded 1839Headquarters QuedgeleySource: Wikidata (CC0)

Gloucestershire Constabulary operates as a territorial police force in the South West region, predominantly focusing on a mixed area that includes urban centres like Gloucester and Cheltenham as well as rural expanses such as the Cotswolds. This diverse geography necessitates a flexible approach to policing, addressing the unique challenges presented by both bustling towns and peaceful villages.

Geographically, the constabulary's jurisdiction includes significant features, such as the presence of GCHQ, which not only impacts local policing strategies but also offers unique collaborations and career opportunities in specialist fields. The force borders several other police jurisdictions, which can create operational quirks related to cross-border crime and joint initiatives. Furthermore, the area is served by key transport corridors, enhancing connectivity but also posing challenges for law enforcement, including traffic-related issues.

Gloucestershire Constabulary boasts several notable specialist capabilities, including a robust Cyber Crime Unit, a dedicated Dog Unit for various operational scenarios, and a Specialist Operations team focusing on firearms incidents. Additionally, a proactive approach to rural crime is observable through committed teams aimed at tackling agriculture-related offences.

In terms of current priorities, the force emphasizes community engagement and has initiatives in place that focus on reducing crime rates, enhancing public safety, and improving overall service delivery to its residents in line with modern policing standards.

Current priorities

  • Reducing crime and anti-social behaviour
  • Enhancing public safety and community engagement
  • Improving response times and service delivery
  • Addressing rural crime and safeguarding initiatives

Notable specialisms

Cyber Crime UnitDog UnitSpecialist Operations TeamRural Crime Team

Source: About Gloucestershire Constabulary. Summary fetched 2026-07-05.

Public-data snapshot

Workforce

Officers

1,250

Staff

600

Total headcount

1,850

Source: Home Office Police Workforce Statistics as of 31 March 2025 · OGL v3

HMICFRS PEEL rating

See per-pillar grades

Inspection cycle: 2023-2025

Source: HMICFRS PEEL assessments · Open Government Licence v3.0

In recent oversight reports

Gloucestershire Constabulary is named in 1 recent IOPC investigation outcome or HMICFRS thematic report.

  • Terms of reference: Home Secretary’s commission for a thematic inspection of the handling of misconduct in fire and rescue services

    2023-07-19 · HMICFRS

See all thematic reports

From data.police.uk

data.police.uk covers England, Wales & Northern Ireland; not Police Scotland.

Stop and search

Latest available month: 2026-08. 0 recorded stop-and-search records that month. Officer-defined ethnicity was recorded on 0% of records.

No stop-and-search records were published for Gloucestershire Constabulary for 2026-08.

⭳ Download all forces' stop & search (CSV)

Source: data.police.uk · Open Government Licence v3.0

Recorded crime by category

4,365 crimes recorded by Gloucestershire Constabulary in 2026-08 (latest published month), by category. Counted from the published street-level archive; England, Wales & Northern Ireland only.

Crime type (2026-08)Recorded
Violence and sexual offences1,577
Anti-social behaviour892
Shoplifting372
Other theft271
Criminal damage and arson266
Public order259
Burglary209
Vehicle crime180
Other crime142
Drugs90
Robbery42
Bicycle theft28
Possession of weapons26
Theft from the person11
Total4,365

Source: data.police.uk street-level archive · Open Government Licence v3.0

Deaths during or following police contact

IOPC-recorded fatalities involving Gloucestershire Constabulary over 2004/05 to 2024/25 (2024/25 in brackets). These use the IOPC’s five categories, which have different definitions and are not additive. Figures count incidents the IOPC attributed to Gloucestershire Constabulary; see the national page for how multi-force incidents are handled.

Road traffic: 3 (2024/25: 0)Fatal shootings: 0 (2024/25: 0)In/following custody: 2 (2024/25: 0)Apparent suicides: 13 (2024/25: 3)Other contact: 19 (2024/25: 0)

Recruitment

How to join Gloucestershire Constabulary

Application stages, entry routes, fitness and vetting requirements.

Open data for this force

Specialist Units

Major Crime Investigation Team
Firearms
Roads Policing
Dog Unit
Force Crime Operations

Official Sources

Topics for Gloucestershire Constabulary

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