20,000 new police officers recruited since 2019

The government has announced that 20,000 additional police officers have been recruited since 2019.

According to statistics, there are more police officers in England and Wales than ever before. There are currently almost 150,000 police officers, 3,500 higher than the previous peak in 2021.

35.5 per cent of officers are female and 8.3 per cent are from an ethnic minority background.

However, the BBC has reported that many of the new police officers are replacing the approximately 20,0000 that left between 2010 and 2019. According to the BBC, in the year to March 2022, the number of full-time police officers leaving the force reached a 20-year high of 8,117.

There are also now fewer senior full-time police officers than in 2010. The number of inspectors has also decreased 14 per cent to 6,245 and the number of superintendents and sergeants has also decreased.

Currently, a third of all police officers in England and Wales have fewer than five years' experience where the length of service is known. This is more than double the number six years ago.

Crime and Policing Minister, Chris Philp said: "Not only are we putting more police officers on the streets, we are making sure they have the tools they need to fight crime – and holding them to account to deliver.

"Overall crime, excluding fraud and computer misuse, has halved since 2010 and I thank all the police officers who have contributed to this effort, and welcome those who are going to drive this down even further.

Gavin Stephens, Chair of National Police Chiefs’ Council said: "It is an incredible achievement to have recruited more than 46,000 officers, giving us more than 20,000 additional officers over the last three years. These additional police officers are much welcomed, bringing a breadth of experience, skills and diversity to their communities.

"Those that joined at the start of the programme are now completing training and making a difference every day in forces across England and Wales. It fills me with optimism that so many talented colleagues have joined with a real desire to keep their communities safe and feeling safe."

The news comes at a time of negative press around several police forces in the country, with reports of racism at the Met. There have also been several high profile criminal cases against individual police officers.

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said on Twitter: "the Tories are trying to take country for fools on policing... they CUT 20,000 police officers".

Image by Fungai Tichawangana from Pixabay