Avon and Somerset uplift of 137 Officers

9 October 2019

The Home Office has pledged a new direction for policing as it announces recruitment targets for first wave of 20,000 new officers

• Home Secretary sets out her vision for policing at second National Policing Board meeting
• Every police force in England and Wales will be able to recruit officers in the first year of the unprecedented uplift
• 6,000 new police officers in the first wave of ambitious recruitment targets to keep our streets safe
• “Public are clear they want to see more police officers on their streets, whether they live in the city or the countryside” - Home Secretary

The Home Office has today confirmed the officer recruitment targets for every police force in England and Wales for the first year of the unprecedented drive to increase their ranks by 20,000 over the next three years.

Strengthening police numbers is a priority for the Government, which is providing £750 million to support forces to recruit up to 6,000 additional officers onto our streets by the end of 2020-21, the first stage in this new uplift. This is thanks to the additional funding announced by the Chancellor in the Spending Review.

The Home Secretary set out her vision for policing yesterday (8th October) when she chaired the second meeting of the National Policing Board, involving representatives of frontline officers and police leaders.

Home Secretary Priti Patel said:

“The public are clear they want to see more police officers on their streets, whether they live in the city or the countryside.

“This is the people’s priority and it is exactly what the Government is delivering.

“Every single police force in England and Wales will be able to recruit additional officers this year to help keep all of our communities safer.”

All officers recruited as part of the 20,000 uplift will be additional to those hired to fill existing vacancies. They are also on top of the extra officers already being recruited because of the £1 billion increase in police funding for 2019-20, which includes money from council tax and for serious violence.

Government funding for recruitment in 2020-21 will cover all associated costs, including training and kit.

The National Policing Board, set up by the Prime Minister in July to drive progress in recruitment and other major policing issues, yesterday heard that all forces are accelerating their recruitment already recruiting and the website for the campaign, ‘Be a Force For All’, has been visited more than 215,000 times.

The Police Federation and the Police Superintendents’ Association attended the board for the first time, honouring the Home Secretary’s commitment for front line officers and their senior managers to be represented.

Andy Roebuck, Chair of Avon and Somerset Police Federation said:

“We are pleased with this announcement from the Home Office. This initial uplift of 137 Police Officers is greatly needed, but only fills a small gap that has been created from nearly 10 years of Police cuts. We feel this is positive and will bring some much needed to support to our officers, Police Staff members and importantly our communities."

"This uplift is for the next financial year, so the impact will not be felt for some time. The Police Federation will work with Avon and Somerset Police to ensure this uplift is effective and efficient, whilst meeting our changing threat, harm and risk. This is exciting times for the organisation and we hope this growth will continue with Police Officer numbers and also our infrastructure."

"There is a need for us to also uplift in our infrastructure and ensure that we build a police service that lasts and has the ability to flex with our changing demands."

Today’s recruitment targets announcement follows the establishment of a £25 million Safer Streets Fund.

Police force area First-year recruitment target
Avon & Somerset 137
Bedfordshire 54
Cambridgeshire 62
Cheshire 90
Cleveland 72
Cumbria 51
Derbyshire 85
Devon & Cornwall 141
Dorset 50
Durham 68
Dyfed-Powys 42
Essex 135
Gloucestershire 46
Greater Manchester 347
Gwent 62
Hampshire 156
Hertfordshire 91
Humberside 97
Kent 147
Lancashire 153
Leicestershire 89
Lincolnshire 50
London, City of 44
Merseyside 200
Metropolitan Police 1,369
Norfolk 67
North Wales 62
North Yorkshire 58
Northamptonshire 57
Northumbria 185
Nottinghamshire 107
South Wales 136
South Yorkshire 151
Staffordshire 90
Suffolk 54
Surrey 78
Sussex 129
Thames Valley 183
Warwickshire 41
West Mercia 93
West Midlands 366
West Yorkshire 256
Wiltshire 49
England and Wales total 6,000