Police are facing rising workloads and more complex types of crime, but investment has fallen behind, according to the government's spending watchdog.

Funding pressures have become so acute that four in five police forces in England and Wales are now drawing on their savings to balance annual budgets.

Last year, police forces reduced their financial reserves by £276m and borrowed £632m to fund 60% of investment programmes.

Reliance on borrowing for investment - on infrastructure, equipment, and technology - is expected to rise further, exposing forces to higher debt repayments and future risk, the National Audit Office (NAO) reports.

Lincolnshire Police withdrew the most from its financial reserves in 2024/25, using more than 6% of funds, followed by the Metropolitan Police Service at

See Full Page