The huge cost Cambridgeshire Police has to pay for uniform over 3 years

A spokesperson for the force said its priority is to get ‘best value for money’

New figures suggest Cambridgeshire Police spent nearly £2 million pounds on uniforms over three years. Freedom of Information figures obtained by Custom Embroidered Patches UK, show the police force spent £1,987,693 on uniform procurement between the 2023/24 and 2025/26 financial years.

A significant amount of uniform is disposed of each year, with the force saying this is due to items often being ‘heavily worn’ or ‘old. It also may include new uniforms for newly recruited officers.

Responding to the claims, a spokesperson for the force said: “Our priority is to get best value for money when procuring and disposing/recycling uniform, and these figures should be seen in context. The total spend on uniform over three years was just under £2 million. This does not however represent the value of kit that is disposed of.

“£529,000 of this figure was spent on items that are recycled or reused where appropriate, including body armour, batons, handcuffs, ballistic plates and metal work such as badges and insignia. Any uniform that is returned unworn goes back into stock, however, returned uniform that is heavily worn or very old, such as when an officer retires, is not reused.”

Their team of 2,819 contains 64 per cent officers and the data showed Cambridgeshire Police reported an average spend of £705 per individual. According to a police force spokesperson, the net figure of £1,458k over the three years also includes dry cleaning costs for loan tunics, lab coats and occasional body armour covers and is therefore not all related to the purchase of kit.

A Cambridgeshire force spokesperson added: “The net figure of £1,458k over the three years also includes dry cleaning costs for loan tunics, lab coats and occasional body armour covers and is therefore not all related to the purchase of kit.

“It is also worth noting that uniform costs over part of this period would have gone up because of the Government uplift programme, which saw the force raise its officer head count by more than 200.”