An intensive recruitment drive has increased Nottinghamshire Police’s officer ranks to its highest number for a decade.
Latest Home Office figures confirmed the force has reached 2,224 officers, up by 245 (12.4 per cent) since October 2019, thanks in a large part to the national Operation Uplift.
It means the force is well on track to meet its target to recruit more than 300 officers by 2022.
The ranks haven’t been this high since March 2011 when there were 2,362 officers.
Whilst undertaking this huge increase of officers, the force has continued to make significant changes to bring down crime rates, which have fallen by more than a fifth over the last year as a result of the work done to bolster both neighbourhoods and specialist teams.
The force can now boast dedicated Operation Reacher teams aimed at disrupting and deterring would be criminals across every neighbourhood in Nottinghamshire, whilst a second knife crime team has also been launched as part of Operation Uplift this year.
It has also seen the force make great strides in becoming more representative of the community it serves, with the Home Office hailing it as best practice in a national report.
Following the successful recruitment drive, over seven per cent of Nottinghamshire officers now come from a from black and minority ethnic background – up from 3.8 per cent at the start of the uplift programme in 2019. This is the highest Nottinghamshire Police has ever been.
The government’s Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities commended the force as a model which has recruited a higher proportion of officers from ethnic minority backgrounds than any other force in England and Wales.
The increase was achieved through a campaign of engagement with different parts of the community, not just those of different faiths and ethnicities, but also across the local public sector, to raise awareness of the opportunity to apply.
On top of this commendation, the force was also highlighted in the national policing board by the Home Secretary Priti Patel in March 2021 and praised by the National Black Police Association President Andy George. The Association of Police and Crime Commissioners also met a selection of the force’s new recruits for an away day, with chief executive Susannah Hancock also stating how impressed the organisation was with the standards of the Nottinghamshire new officers.
Chief Constable Craig Guildford said: “To have reached our highest officer levels from more than 10 years is testament to the success of the recruitment programme. Not since 2011 have we had so many officers out on our Nottinghamshire streets and engaging with the public daily.
“With the support of the Police and Crime Commissioner we have been quick to take up the offer from Government to swell the ranks of front line policing as part of their offer to increase police officer numbers in forces across the country by 20,000.
“The force continues to make huge strides forward. This is happening because of the huge amount of work my officers and staff have put into our recruitment processes, which includes a real longer term focus on community and youth engagement programmes, schools outreach, and positive action.
“I would like to place on record my thanks to everyone who has made this possible including my staff and all those members of the community who have helped us to achieve this.
“It’s also a matter of great personal pride to me that more and more people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds look to Nottinghamshire Police not only as a potential employer, but also as an organisation they want to help develop and make stronger for the future.
“This is exactly what communities want, to have a more visible presence on the streets and I’m very happy that we are continuing to create local jobs for local people across Nottinghamshire.”
While all forces last year saw a drop in crime due to the impact of lockdown, Nottinghamshire Police was already seeing a significant drop in crime rates.
The Home Office announcement follows the news that crime in the county plummeted by more than a fifth over the last year. Robberies, sexual offences, violence and other serious crime figures have all fallen significantly.
Drug offences have decreased by 9.9 per cent over all, while a major crackdown on suspected drug dealers has seen drug trafficking offences rise by 11.6 per cent – thanks mainly to the excellent Operation Reacher teams who are responding quickly to local community intelligence.
Knife crime has continued to fall thanks to a huge team effort involving partners and the Violence Reduction Unit. It is now under the national average, which is a significant outcome.
Entry routes for Police Constables
The role of a police officer is challenging but highly rewarding. There are different entry routes to become a constable and complete Nottinghamshire Police’s internal training programme.
These include working towards a degree at the same time as police training through the force’s pre-join degree and also its unique Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship programme.
The force will open recruitment for these different routes at different times, so people are advised to check the current vacancies page and the force’s social media for updates.
To learn more about a policing career with the force visit: https://www.nottinghamshire.police.uk/careers/nottinghamshire-police-officer