Officer numbers up, but retention issues remain

26 January 2023

The number of officers serving with Suffolk Police rose by 33 in 2022, according to new figures from the Home Office.

Data released as part of a quarterly update on the Police Uplift Programme showed there were 1,396 officers serving with the Force in December compared with 1,363 last January.

Suffolk Police Federation chair Darren Harris welcomed the increase but said officer retention was a growing problem across policing.

Darren said:  “It is always a pleasure to welcome new recruits and we wish every one of them a long and fulfilling career in policing.

“But in reality keeping hold of young officers, and their more experienced colleagues, is becoming more and more of a challenge with pay and conditions still a huge factor when it comes to officers leaving the service.

“We welcome the Police Uplift Programme and the extra funding for recruitment but it is only one part of the story. The Government has to make a commitment over pay and conditions or the retention crisis will just get worse and worse.”

The Police Uplift Programme was a 2019 Government manifesto pledge.

Nationwide figures revealed that 16,753 new officers had now been recruited from funding for the scheme - 84 per cent of the target of 20,000 recruits by March.

There are now 145,658 officers in the 43 territorial police forces in England and Wales. 

A Home Office spokesman said: “The Police Uplift Programme’s primary focus is to support the recruitment of officers across the 43 forces.

“Recruitment across each force is the responsibility of an operationally independent chief constable and held to account by a locally elected Police and Crime Commissioner.

“The Government has pledged to invest more £3.5 billion in policing between 2020 and 2023 in order to recruit 20,000 additional officers.

“Additional officers will support forces in tackling crime and making communities safer.

“The Police Uplift Programme is one of a range of initiatives the Government has implemented to support policing.”