Officer numbers up 140 in a year

2 November 2022

West Midlands Police has 140 more officers than it had at this time last year, according to figures released by the Home Office.

The new data showed the Force had 7,715 serving officers at the end of September compared with 7,575 in September 2021.

The Home Office said a total of 15,343 officers had now been recruited across England and Wales from funding for the Police Uplift Programme which aims to take on 20,000 new officers by March 2023.

West Midlands Police Federation chair Rich Cooke welcomed the increase but said the number of officers leaving the Force and the attrition rate of newcomers had to be considered when looking at Police Uplift Programme data.

And he also warned the rapid recruitment of new police officers created challenges of its own.

He said: “It’s great to have so many new officers at a time when we’re facing such pressure in policing and we welcome them all but the recruitment of officers in such numbers has placed unprecedented demands on our Learning and Development staff.

“We need to ensure that while we continue to recruit, we also ensure we are not compromising standards, and important selection procedures such as fitness testing, medicals, drug testing, and vetting are rigorous.”

Rich said the problem of officer retention also had to be properly addressed or the influx of new recruits would simply be cancelled out be the departures of their more experienced colleagues.

“The Force needs to ensure it is doing everything it can to retain these new recruits and to retain their more experienced colleagues as well.

“The impact of a decade of cuts on officer morale has led to many experienced men and women leaving the service so unless officer retention is taken seriously,  recruitment can feel like trying to fill a bucket that’s full of holes.”

A Home Office spokesman said: “The Government has pledged to invest more £3.5 bn 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.”