Officers are tied up with "non-incident" duties, which also include training, appraisals and handling complaints, for 39 per cent of their time – the equivalent of three hours in every shift.
The figures further fuel concerns that officers continue to be chained to their desks rather than on the streets, where the public wants them.
The Daily Telegraph disclosed last year that the amount of paperwork swamping staff has actually increased despite continual promises from ministers and chief constables to reduce it.
All three main political parties have pledged to free up officers further by cutting back on red tape, but the latest breakdown from the Home Office shows form-filling is not the only issue.
In an average year, an officer will spend a third (32.5 per cent) of their time dealing with crimes and another 14.9 per cent with other incidents such as road accidents, public disorder, missing persons and domestic disputes.
Patrolling the streets occupies just 13.8 per cent of their duties meaning 38.8 per cent of time is filled with other activities not directly linked to a specific incident.
It includes around four per cent on refreshments, including lunch breaks, and 6.6 per cent of time in meetings and briefings.
The Daily Telegraph disclosed last year that a fifth of police time is spent just on paperwork which has risen since 2004.
It comes as the Tories warn form-filling for police could take up the equivalent of a year over the course of the next Parliament because of Labour's failure to combat red tape.
The Tories said another five years of Labour would mean officers spend the same as a full working year bogged down in bureaucracy.
Chris Grayling said: "The reason so many communities are under policed is the massive culture of bureaucracy and paperwork that has been put in place by Labour.
"We have to get rid of the form filling and get officers back on the streets fighting crime."
In December, Jan Berry, the Government's policing red tape tsar, said officers are spending no more time on the beat now than two years ago and some are even spending less.
The following month, Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary, infuriated police of all ranks when he suggested officers prefer to sit around in a "warm police station" rather than go out and catch criminals.
A Labour Party spokesman said: "Under a Labour Government, every community now has a neighbourhood police team committed to spending at least 80 per cent of their time on the beat visible in their neighbourhood, and responding to non-emergency issues within 24 hours."