More local officers on the beat as we celebrate Uplift achievement

More than 1,900 officers are now serving communities in Staffordshire as we celebrate achieving the national Police Uplift Programme target.

Staffordshire Police is proud to announce the achievement of reaching and surpassing its Uplift target as we continue to focus on community priorities and the success of our new policing model.

At the beginning of the programme, the Home Office set Staffordshire Police a target of a total headcount of 1,948 police officers in force. We have since recruited more than 800 officers since July 2019, which has seen our workforce grow from 1,648 operational officers, to 1,973.

The achievement forms part of the government’s national Police Uplift Programme, which aims to recruit an additional 20,000 officers in England and Wales across 43 different forces, by the end of March 2023.

Since July 2019, we’ve successfully recruited officers through a variety of different entry routes, including the: Police Education Qualification Framework (PEQF), Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA), Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP), Detective Constable Degree Holder Entry Programme (DCDHEP) in partnership with Staffordshire University, as well as transferees from other forces and other routes.

The significant uptake in roles also represents another crucial step in the long-term implementation of our new local policing model – which launched in June 2022 – and means we now have more local officers working in local policing teams to work with partners to tackle the concerns which matter the most to our communities.

We have seen an increase in the number of officers who identify as female and from an ethnic minority background since the Uplift programme began. The force is now more representative of the communities of Staffordshire than ever before.

Figures released in December 2022 also show significant progress, nationally, in the number of new recruits with ethnic minority backgrounds, which is now at its highest ever.

December saw us recruit a total of 216 female and 217 male officers – meaning that 44 percent of new recruits in Staffordshire were female - while a total of 5.3 percent of those new officers identified as from an ethnic minority.

The government has been continuing to work alongside Chief Constables and the College of Policing to spearhead this recruitment process and to ensure forces across the UK are able to hire new officers to keep communities safe. This has involved a comprehensive vetting and assessment process to ensure recruits are suitable and hold the correct morals and values.

Chief Constable, Chris Noble, said: “Recruiting new officers is a crucial step in the implementation of our new policing model and we’ve been able to exceed the government’s national targets alongside our own local aims.

“Whilst I recognise that there is still important work to be done to ensure we continue to attract the right people who are representative of all the communities we serve, we’re continuing to build a diverse and passionate workforce who are motivated by making a difference.”

Staffordshire Commissioner for Police, Fire & Rescue and Crime, Ben Adams said: “This is a significant achievement for Staffordshire Police, and it’s great to see these new officers taking up their roles within the force and dealing with the issues that matter to people.

“I know how much our communities value seeing police officers on their streets, which is why I’m continuing to invest in a further increase in numbers – with the ambition of moving to 2,000 officers by March 2024.”

To find out more about careers with Staffordshire Police, visit: https://careers.staffordshire.police.uk