AROUND eight per cent of PSNI officers left their position last year.
New figures from the force show that 311 'regular officers' left in 2016.
Retirements make up of the majority of the total, with 196 officers leaving during the calendar year, but 48 chose to resign in the same period.
A total of 51 officers were forced to retire on medical grounds, while four died in 2016.
The information, released following a freedom of information request from The Irish News, also shows that five officers were 'dismissed', with a further nine 'forced to resign', with the exact reason undisclosed.
The PSNI regular officer strength was put at 6,815 as of February 28 2017.
This is almost 700 below the 7,500 officers recommended by the Patten report in 1999.
The Police Federation warned earlier this year that 30 officers are leaving the PSNI every month, at the same time as there are no replacements graduating from the Police College due to a freeze on recruitment.
