91 new recruits for Force

9 October 2019

Hertfordshire will get 91 of the 6,000 new recruits being taken on in the first year of the Government’s three-year plan to boost officer numbers by 20,000.

The allocation was announced by Home Secretary Priti Patel yesterday following the second meeting of the National Policing Board set up to oversee the recruitment drive and other major policing issues.

“Since the Government announced the recruitment drive, there has been much speculation about how the new recruits would be shared around the 43 forces across England and Wales,” says Geoff Bardell, chair of Hertfordshire Police Federation.

“I am pleased that we now know how many will be coming to Hertfordshire so the Force can plan accordingly. Nationwide, we have lost around 23,000 police officers in the last nine years and, while we have not fared as badly as many others, any boost to our numbers is welcome.

“As officer numbers have fallen, we have seen no corresponding reduction in demand and our members have felt the strain with more and more suffering stress and mental health issues.

“This re-investment in policing is long overdue. While the police service has a commitment to protect its communities, it also has to look after its own people and it can only do that if it is properly resourced and equipped.”

The allocation has been based on the current force funding formula.

The Metropolitan Police will get 1,369 new recruits. The next highest allocations are: West Midlands ((366), Greater Manchester (347), West Yorkshire (256), Merseyside (200), Northumbria (185) and Thames Valley (183).

The lowest allocations go to Warwickshire (41), Dyfed Powys (42), City of London (44), Gloucestershire (46) and Wiltshire (49).

The Home Office campaign, urging people to join the police and ‘Be a force for all’, was launched in the summer and is the largest police recruitment drive in decades.

The Chancellor has announced funding to support the recruitment of the first wave of up to 6,000 officers. This includes £750 million for 2020-21 and an immediate £45 million to kick-start recruitment.

The remaining 14,000 officers will be recruited in 2021-22 and 2022-23 through extra central funding and will be on top of extra officers hired to fill existing vacancies.