More than half of the promised 20,000 additional police officers have now been recruited, the Home Office announced on Wednesday 27 October, with an increasing number of women signing up to join forces across England and Wales.
An extra 11,053 officers have been hired across England and Wales as part of the Police Uplift Programme to help bring crime down and keep neighbourhoods safer, meaning that the government is now 55% of the way to meeting its recruitment target of 20,000 additional officers by March 2023.
Forces saw more women joining the ranks to tackle criminals and protect the public from harm between July and September 2021 – with female officers accounting for 45% (1,451) of all new joiners during that time.
And over the last year eight forces – Derbyshire, Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire, Sussex, Thames Valley, Kent and Suffolk – have hired more women than men. This means more officers on the streets bringing down drugs gangs, bearing down on violent crime and tackling anti-social behaviour.
There are also more Black, Asian and minority ethnic officers employed across forces than at any other time in the country’s history, now making up 7.9% (10,690) of all officers.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: Everyone should have the security and confidence that comes from having a safe street and a safe home, which is why cutting crime is an essential part of our mission to level up this country.
We’re now over half way to meeting our target of recruiting 20,000 police officers by 2023. By getting more officers out on the street and backing them with the powers they need to keep people safe, we’re getting on with the job of making our country safer.
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: Two years ago, this government made a promise to the British people to put 20,000 extra police officers on our streets – and we are delivering on that pledge. I am delighted that today we are more than halfway towards our goal, with an additional 11,053 police officers already recruited to our forces.
These extra officers have meant police forces can set up new units tackling crime and protecting vulnerable people – including supporting those who have suffered rape and sexual assault.
These officers are already on our streets, cutting crime and keeping our communities safe.
The additional officers have enabled some forces to put more focus on tackling specific crimes, for example:
Avon and Somerset Police has set up Operation Bluestone – a transformative programme which has seen police professionals work alongside leading UK academics to change the police response to rape and sexual assault.
The Metropolitan Police Service has created violence suppression units and predatory offender units to drive down all forms of violent crime, including domestic abuse and violence against women and girls. The Met is also currently creating new town centre teams, to increase their presence in busy neighbourhoods and town centres.
Lancashire Police is funding a number of missing from home community safety officers who will work to reduce the number of times children go missing, including those at risk of exploitation, with the aim of keeping the county’s most vulnerable young people safe.
Martin Hewitt, Chair of the National Police Chiefs’ Council said: These additional 11,000 police officers are much welcomed by the service. It is particularly pleasing to see the increase in female and Black, Asian or other minority ethnic officers joining us, as policing becomes more reflective of the people that we serve.
There is still much more to do as we work to build trust and confidence and continued investment into recruitment of additional police officers will support this.
Chief Constable Andy Marsh, Chief Executive of the College of Policing, said: The latest recruitment figures are very welcome and extremely positive. They demonstrate that despite the challenges of the pandemic policing has been able to continue to bring new officers into the service at pace and in large numbers.
We have passed a significant milestone as we are now more than halfway towards the target of 20,000 additional officers. The new officers will provide much needed support to our existing workforce, help reduce crime, keep our communities safe and improve outcomes for victims.
I want the very best training and professional development for all our officers and staff. I am proud the College of Policing’s new training for police constable recruits has already been adopted by the majority of police forces across England and Wales, which means many of these new officers will have benefitted from the up-to-date training that reflects the breadth and complexity of the challenging, and important role they are undertaking.
Anyone interested in applying to their local force can search Join the Police to find out more.
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