Almost 400 new officers join Force

27 July 2022

West Midlands Police recruited 393 new officers in the 12 months to March 2022, according to new figures from the Home Office.

The newly-released data shows the Force had 7,579 officers on 31 March this year compared with 7,186 on the same date the year before.

The 5.5 per cent increase is slightly above the national figure of 4 per cent which equates to 4,927 extra officers and brings the total number of serving officers across England and Wales to 140,228.

Home Office officials said the latest figures revealed the second highest number of recruits in a year since records began, just behind the year ending March 2020 when there were 12,883 new officers.

The recruitment drive is part of the Government’s Police Uplift Programme which aims to bring in 20,000 new officers by next March.

West Midlands Police Federation chair Rich Cooke said: “We need more officers. But, what we are seeing over an over again, is that they are not fulfilling their potential. This is due to the fact that the experienced officers they need to support their development are spread more thinly than ever.

“The ratio of students to tutor constable is too high – it should be one to one but sadly it's often more like one to four in many cases. Students are being posted to high demand, high risk areas of business such as Public Protection and Force CID and expected to manage heavy complex workloads at an earlier stage than ever I have seen in my 22 years of service.

“Urgent investment is needed in pay, to retain and reward experience and skills, training and infrastructure, to make sure these officers are at the locations they are needed at the heart of communities.

“Our Force covers a large and very diverse region, so it is incredibly important that it is properly resourced with a workforce that reflects the communities it serves.”

Rich said the Force should now be introducing measures to ensure as many of the new recruits as possible stick with the job.

He said: “Officer retention is as important as officer recruitment so we are urging the Force to make sure new recruits feel they are being supported throughout their training and probation, are treated with respect at all times and are fairly rewarded as their policing careers take off.

“This can be the best job in the world and I want every one of those new officers to have long, enjoyable and successful careers with West Midlands Police.”