In England and Wales, there are 43 territorial police forces, with 39 in England and the remaining four in Wales.

Each police force has an elected Police and Crime Commissioner, who oversees how crime is tackled in the police force area. London and Greater Manchester have separate arrangements, where the Mayor of each city is responsible for Police and Crime Commissioner functions.

In Scotland and Northern Ireland, policing has been devolved to the Scottish Parliament and Northern Ireland Assembly. Rather than being divided into local police force areas, in both nations, there is one overall service, Police Scotland and Police Service of Northern Ireland.