Bringing Back Retired Officers Is Last Resort

RECRUITING retired officers should only be used as a last resort if a large number of police officers become ill with coronavirus, according to South Yorkshire Police Federation.

Many forces are calling on former colleagues to help out during the pandemic, and South Yorkshire is one of those forces to have a pool of potential reserve officers to call on should they need it.

But Chairman Steve Kent says deploying those officers should not be a first resort.

He explained: “We’re not seeing a need for it at the moment because demand is what it is, and to be fair the obstructions rate in South Yorkshire in terms of officers going off sick is thankfully lower than what we expected.

“But what the force has done, is get a number of people they can call if they need help down the line if there’s a second spike or if there was a sudden release of conditions which, to be fair, is unlikely. That’s when would be expecting to be busy.

“So it’s really nice that we’ve got this pool of potential reserves in case we ever needed them down the line.

“I personally know of an Inspector who retired seven or eight years ago, rung up and said he’s more than willing to come and do it for free and to help out. That is really admirable and it just shows the support we’ve got from our ex-colleagues which is a really nice thing.

“It’s a last resort for me, but it’s nice to have it in our arsenal. The thing is, I think this links in with the wider picture.

“Bear in mind in South Yorkshire we’re still at record lowest numbers because we haven’t got the recruits kicking in yet that we need to. Even then, for me it’s just an option in our utility belt to say if we’re at that point where 50% of cops are off and we’re only attending 999 incidents, wouldn’t it be great if we had some people who have still got something to offer?

“So it shouldn’t be a default position. Absolutely not. We’ve got other stuff to look at for that like recruitment and the 30+ scheme. But it’s nice to know there are people out there willing to help us if it really did get that bad.

“Thankfully that’s not been borne out so hopefully they’re not going to be needed, in the nicest possible way.”

South Yorkshire Police has written to retired officers to ask if they are willing to help out during the pandemic.

Chief Constable Styephen Watson said: “We are currently living in exceptional times: there has not been a period in recent history when the contribution of our emergency services has been so critical for communities across South Yorkshire and the rest of the country.

“We are well prepared and equipped to deal with this pandemic. Our officers will remain on the front line and we will be here for the people in South Yorkshire who need us. In these unprecedented times, however, we are also calling upon those who have left us to consider returning to duties to provide a tremendous public service.

“The skillsets of these former colleagues will be invaluable as we get on with the job in front of us.”