The Board, announced last week, brings together senior
police leaders and government. During today’s meeting
the Home Secretary outlined plans to begin the
unprecedented recruitment drive in September and hire
up to 6,000 officers in the first year.
Opening the meeting, Prime Minister said:
This first meeting of the new National Policing Board
marks the start of a new partnership between the
police and the Government.
My pledge to recruit 20,000 police officers over the
next three years is an absolute priority and it will
begin within weeks.
I am a Prime Minister who backs our police all the
way and I am going to give them the resources and the
confidence they need to get the job done.
Today’s meeting was attended by senior policing
figures, including Chair of the National Police Chiefs’
Council Martin Hewitt, Chair of the Association of
Police and Crime Commissioners , National Crime
Agency Director General Lynne Owens and Metropolitan
Police Deputy Commissioner Sir Stephen House, among
others.
Speaking after the meeting, Home Secretary said:
This Government will not hesitate to act and give the
police the support they need to protect the public.
We have moved swiftly to set up this Board, provide
strong leadership and deliver on our commitment to
recruit 20,000 more police officers to crack down on
crime and keep us all safe.
Following this meeting, the Government and police
will move at pace to drive forward our plans to
bolster the police’s ranks.
The Board discussed the changing nature of crime and
the increasingly complex demand on the police,
including from child sexual exploitation, serious and
organised crime, and fraud.
They agreed that the Board would be a useful forum for
improving collaboration and consistency across the 43
police forces in England and Wales.
The importance of police officer wellbeing and findings
from the Home Office’s Front Line Review were also
discussed.
The National Policing Board will meet four times a
year.
National Police Chiefs’ Council Chair, Martin Hewitt
QPM said:
I am pleased to have attended the first meeting of
the new National Policing Board, which brings
together Government and police leaders to deliver a
transformational opportunity for policing.
This ambitious growth requires significant planning,
and work has already begun with all involved to
consider how we can successfully achieve our
recruitment target in the next three years.
The Home Office is also considering how it can further
support the police in the use of stop and search,
including next steps on a pilot that has made it
simpler for officers in seven forces to use Section 60
of the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act.
Section 60 powers allow police officers to stop and
search anyone in a designated area, over a specific
period of time, without reasonable grounds for
suspicion if serious violence is anticipated.
