Recruitment drive delivers almost 9,000 additional police
Latest statistics show government is 44% of the way towards meeting its ambition of hiring 20,000 additional police officers by 2023.
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An extra 8,771 police officers have been recruited to cut crime and keep communities across the country safer as part of the government’s campaign to bring in 20,000 additional officers, new Home Office figures published today (Thursday 29 April) show.
As of 31 March 2021, every one of the 43 police forces in England and Wales has hit or surpassed its first-year recruitment target since the launch of the Police Uplift Programme in September 2019.
The new figures show that the government is already 44% of the way towards meeting its ambition of hiring 20,000 additional officers by 2023, with many of these new recruits already on the streets and doing their bit to protect neighbourhoods.
The Police Uplift Programme is an unprecedented opportunity to create a more representative police workforce, and the statistics show that forces are more diverse than ever before.
More women (45,996) are now employed as police officers in forces across England and Wales than ever before. Since April 2020, 42% (5,037) of the new recruits have identified as female.
The number of Black, Asian and other ethnic minority officers is also now at its highest point on record, with 10,218 officers from these communities employed in forces across England and Wales. Since April 2020, recruits from these communities have made up 10.6% (1,212) of all joiners.
The data shows the appetite for thousands to join the police has continued despite the coronavirus pandemic, with online assessment processes, virtual career fairs, and internet workshops continuing to run safely during lockdown.
Policing Minister Kit Malthouse said:
Joining the police to help make neighbourhoods safer is a noble career and I am heartened to see thousands more people make that choice.
An increase of 8,771 officers is a great achievement, and I want to thank forces for their considerable efforts to help us exceed our target for the first year of the recruitment campaign.
It is fantastic that our police forces are now more diverse than ever before, but we know there is still more work to do to on this front – I will continue working with police leaders to ensure our forces are truly representative of the communities they serve.