Government claims to have reached police recruitment targets ‘do not stand up to scrutiny’, according to its staff association.
The latest Police Officer Uplift figures show it has employed 20,951 more officers since 2019, taking the total number of officers to 149,572.
But the Police Federation of England and Wales (PFEW) said the new headcount numbers released today were a “smokescreen”.
The government pledged a target of recruiting 20,000 more officers in England and Wales by March 2023 in its 2019 election manifesto.
Home secretary Suella Braverman said that reaching the target was a “historic moment for the country”.
Police uplift targets
Officers struck by low morale and lack of progression, police survey finds
“These new officers are changing the face of policing. They are more representative of the communities they serve and this offers a unique chance to deliver the highest standards and common sense policing expected by the public.”
There was a particularly sharp rise during the first three months of 2023, when it recruited 4,000 extra officers – the biggest quarterly jump since the police uplift programme started.
The official figures show a particularly sharp rise during the first three months of 2023, when it recruited 4,000 extra officers – the biggest quarterly jump since the police uplift programme started.
PFEW said the Home Office had simply “backfilled” the 21,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) officers that were cut by the government in 2010, overlooking the fact that an additional 23,000 police staff roles were also cut at that time. Remaining officers have struggled to cover workloads ever since, and attrition is high, it added.
“The effect of these cuts has been felt and seen by the public and our officers have been suffering the consequences,” said PFEW national chair Steve Hartshorn.
“Due to rising attrition rates, we would need closer to 50,000 new officers to cover these losses.
“The reality is, considering population growth of more than 4 million since 2010, even with an ‘uplift’ of 20,000 officers, we will have fewer officers on the streets than we had a decade ago.
“Half of all police forces now have fewer officers than they had in 2010 and voluntary resignations have almost doubled.”
Hartshorn said the government should publish the number of FTE officers in service between 2010 and 2023, rather than the new headcount numbers, to avoid misleading the public.
“It is time policing and the safety of the public are prioritised by this government in a meaningful way and a Royal Commission on policing is appointed to ensure the service has the ability to fulfil their remit and serve and protect the public,” he added.
Last year, police watchdog His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services identified significant failures in forces’ vetting records that had allowed them to employ people with criminal records or links to organised crime.
Furthermore, more than half of current police officers are currently experiencing low or very low morale, according to a PFEW survey, leading to calls for reform in how officers are recruited, retained and trained.
In the year to March 2022, the number of full-time officers leaving the force reached a 20-year high of 8,117. Half of those were officers who had reached retirement and could claim their pension.
There are fewer senior full-time officers as well – currently, a third of officers in England and Wales has fewer than five years’ experience, according to Home Office data.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper accused the government of “trying to take the country for fools on policing… they CUT 20,000 police officers”, referring to reductions in force numbers between 2010 and 2019 when funding was cut.
Recruitment and resourcing opportunities on Personnel Today
Browse more recruitment and resourcing jobs
