Women now make up over 50,000 police officers in forces in
England and Wales following the government’s unprecedented drive
to hire thousands more recruits.
The figure of 50,364 women in the 43 police forces achieved today
means there are now more female police officers pursuing
criminals and serving the public than since records began –
making up 34.9% of the overall workforce. Of the recruits hired
since April 2020, 42.5% (13,326) are women.
The government is on track to deliver its manifesto commitment to
recruit 20,000 additional officers by March 2023, with 15,343
extra police now hired – making up 77% of the target.
The new recruits are already having a positive impact in forces
across England and Wales. For example, Avon and Somerset Police
has put more officers into responding to rape and sexual assault
through its Operation Soteria following the Police Uplift
Programme and Lancashire Constabulary has expanded its
Missing From Home Community Safety Officer team to track down
missing children and protect those at risk of exploitation.
Home Secretary said:
As Home Secretary my first priority is to protect the British
public from harm and I am absolutely steadfast in my
determination to drive down crime.
That’s why I am delighted the government is on track to deliver
20,000 additional police officers by March 2023, with 15,343
already recruited to bring criminals to justice.
This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for forces to become
more representative of the communities they serve and I am
heartened to see there are now over 50,000 women in forces across
England and Wales for the first time.
With the extra officers recruited I want to continue to
see forces doubling down on tackling murder, serious
violence and neighbourhood crimes which tear communities apart.
National Police Chiefs’ Council Lead for Workforce Diversity and
Representation, Deputy Chief Constable Rachel Kearton, said:
Reaching 50,000 female police officers is a really positive
milestone. The uplift programme has seen many more women apply to
join policing across a range of roles and responsibilities.
We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds –
regardless of their age, gender, race, faith or sexual
orientation. By increasing diversity we will better represent our
communities and those who we police by consent.
We know that more needs to be done to ensure that women see
policing as an attractive career and as we continue through the
police uplift, we hope this positive increase continues.
A recent Home Office survey showed that job satisfaction was 90%
for new recruits who have joined the police as part of the
government’s recruitment campaign, 79% of new recruits have had
their expectations of joining the police met or exceeded, whilst
81% intend to stay in the police for the rest of their working
lives.
Compared to other roles in the public sector, voluntary
resignations in policing are low at 2.5%.
Total police funding has increased by up to £1.1 billion this
year, providing up to £16.9 billion for the policing system. In
addition, every police officer received a £1,900 uplift to their
salary this year which equalled up to an 8.8% increase for those
on the lower salary bands.
All recruits must meet the standards set by the College of
Policing and the government has worked with chief constables and
the college to modernise, standardise and increase resilience in
the recruitment process to ensure forces are able to hire the
additional officers to keep communities safe.
Anyone interested in applying to their local force can
search Join the
Police to find out more.
