Government’s ‘Unrealistic Expectations’ Of Recruitment Drive

RoystonUncategorized

THE Government has unrealistic expectations of the police service’s recruitment drive, and it might take five years to see results.

That is the view of South Yorkshire Police Federation, as the force is currently recruiting 700 officers. The Government agreed to fund 20,000 police officers in England and Wales over the next three years

Speaking at the National Police Chiefs’ Council and Association of Police and Crime Commissioners summit last month, Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “We need to pull out all the stops to deliver the decline in crime that people want to see.

“These outcomes will be non-negotiable and I will be unapologetic about holding you to account.”

But South Yorkshire Federation Chairman Steve Kent said that the force would end up with around one in 2.5 South Yorkshire Police officers having three or fewer years’ service, and that had inherent risks.

He explained: “Police have been decimated in the last decade and they’ve got to be given time to get new police officers trained, and continued investment going forward.

“It’s all very well chucking everybody through the door, getting the 700 in within two or three years, and then just leaving it at that. No. We need to continue with the upwards surge and we also need to give these officers time to bed in.

“In my experience, it really takes three to four years before you’re confident enough to do the job without any kind of daily supervision. I would urge a five-year realistic timeframe in terms of where we’re going to be.

Steve said the force needed those officers with more experience and that many were due to retire. He said he considered officers with between five and 15 years’ experience to be “in their prime”.

He admitted that the Government funding was “a massive light at the end of the tunnel”.

But he added: “Let’s just take our time getting through that tunnel, and let’s not think we’re going to get to that light in the next year or two, because it’s going to take a little bit longer than that.”