Bedfordshire Police spent £1,071.82 per officer on uniforms and insignia across three financial years, representing the second lowest cost per head among neighbouring regional forces.
An investigation by supplier Custom Embroidered Patches UK showed the force spent £1,575,575.18 between 2023 and 2026 to equip its 1,470 officers.
Cross-referencing overall expenditure against official police headcounts from PCC reports and constabulary records in each area reveals varying costs per officer across the region over the same three-year period.
Thames Valley Police recorded the lowest spend per officer at £1,000.37, spending £5,121,897.27 across 5,120 officers.
Cambridgeshire Constabulary spent £1,154.29 per head, totalling £1,987,693.35 across 1,722 officers.
Hertfordshire Constabulary recorded the highest spend per head at £1,188.70, spending £2,870,721.44 across 2,415 officers.
Bedfordshire Police uniform costs fluctuated across the period, moving from £493,596.10 in 2023 to 2024 up to £608,730.25 in 2024 to 2025, before falling to £473,248.83 in 2025 to 2026.
Costs for badges and metal insignia reached £27,968.22 in 2023 to 2024, £30,039.35 in 2024 to 2025, and £30,889.07 in 2025 to 2026.
Annual spending for Bedfordshire Police peaked at £638,769.60 during 2024 to 2025.
Increase in officers
A Bedfordshire Police spokesperson said: “We are committed to securing the best possible value for money from our uniform and equipment, while ensuring officers and staff have safe, suitable kit that meets the high standards rightly expected of policing.
“More than £420,000 of the force’s expenditure over the past three years relates to items that can be recycled or reused where appropriate, including body armour, batons and metal work such as badges and insignia.
“Any uniform returned in an unworn condition that is suitable for reissue is also placed back into stock for future use.
“It is also important to recognise that expenditure has increased in line with the increase in the number of officers across the force.”
Returned garments unsuitable for reissue are processed into refuse-derived fuel to generate electricity for the National Grid, ensuring zero items go to landfill.
Reuse and recycle
Custom Embroidered Patches UK stated that discarding returned clothing is wasteful, arguing garments could be washed and given to new recruits.
However, the investigation provided no data regarding the physical condition of returned garments or whether worn items met safety standards for repair and reuse.
Thomas Green, founder and director of Custom Embroidered Patches UK, said: “These numbers highlight the truly staggering financial burden that regional police forces currently face when equipping their officers for the front line.
“When millions of pounds of public money are spent year upon year, the logistical challenge is clear, but these costs could be drastically reduced.
“Specialised police garments cannot simply be discarded due to severe security risks. It is absolutely vital that constabularies continue to adopt robust recycling strategies, ensuring taxpayer money is protected.”
Update: This article replaces an earlier version to add cost per head figures to better compare between forces.
