Police recruitment drive delayed by coronavirus crisis but thin blue line 'will be bolstered'
A West Midlands Police recruitment drive to bring in hundreds of new officers has been held up by the coronavirus pandemic.
The force is bidding to take on more than 1,000 officers over the next year – five times as many as in 2017 – as it deals with a record number of applications for frontline roles.
But the plans have been pushed back after assessments for 581 prospective officers were put on hold due to the lockdown. Officer numbers have risen by 95 since October.
The recruits include an allocation of 366 officers as part of a £750 million Government scheme to increase police ranks across the country.
Home Office figures show that across England and Wales police ranks have been bolstered by 3,005 new officers since the scheme launched in September.
They include Staffordshire Police, which has taken on an extra 41 officers out of an allocation of 90 by 2020-21, while West Mercia Police has recruited 76 of a total of 93 new officers.
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Nicola Price, director of people for WMP, said 39,000 people had applied to join the force in the last year, including 7,500 as officers.
She said: "While the headline statistics highlight that we haven’t yet seen as many people start their career with us as we would have liked, we are heartened by the huge numbers of people we are seeing apply and move through our selection process."
West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson has frequently complained about budget cuts, which he says have seen his force lose more than 2,000 officers in the past decade.
In recent weeks half of all applications to WMP have come from women, with 28 per cent from BAME backgrounds.
Staffordshire Police chief constable Gareth Morgan said: "It is very welcome that the government recognises the need to address police numbers and I am pleased to see these officers now in force, bolstering the service we provide to local communities.
"It’s important to recognise that during the coronavirus pandemic we have not halted recruitment, but have made changes and adapted courses appropriately to adhere to current guidelines."
Last year the force launched a partnership with Staffordshire University to support new entry routes into policing – working as an officer and gaining a degree as part of the training or joining with existing degree level qualifications.
The Government is aiming to increase police ranks by 20,000 over the next three years – including 6,000 by 2021 – following huge cuts to police numbers over the past decade.
The overall headcount of officers in England and Wales is now 131,596 – five per cent up on March last year.
WMP now has 6,641 officers, Staffordshire Police has 1,689 and West Mercia Police is at 2,240.
