Government nearly halfway on 2023 police recruitment drive

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 by 2023.

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.

It means that the government is now 44 per cent 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 data also 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.”