New Recruits Can Ease Pressure On Existing Officers

NEW recruits joining South Yorkshire Police this year can help existing officers ‘weather the storm’ until they are up and running in the role.

Despite all the pressures and challenges of the job, not least the threat of assault and attack, a career in policing still appears to be an attractive option as Yorkshire Live reports ‘hundreds’ have applied to become PCs on the force.

Around 270 new officers could be starting their training in October.

Steve Kent, South Yorkshire Police Federation Chairman, has been involved in the recruitment process and has so far been impressed by what’s he seen.

He is hopeful the new officers will release some of the stress on existing colleagues once they are ready to go on the beat.

He said: “We’re really pleased that people are coming through the door and I’m impressed with the those we’ve seen in the processes.

“It’s got to be a good thing. We need to weather the storm in the next year or two until they’re bedded in, but this is a great start to get us back to where we need to be.

“Myself and the Federation Secretary have been involved in the recruiting days and also in the physical interviews of the candidates, and it’s been made clear that we should only still recruit people who are suitable for the job.

“So sometimes we ask some difficult questions, and I don’t mind admitting that, to make sure that they know the challenging job that they’re coming to.

“The job at the moment is very challenging, but we need the people to come in, the right people, to give us that resilience and turn us back into the force that we once were in terms of our resources.

“If we can then officers can work in a better environment and we can get a better service to everybody out there.”