THE chair of the Dorset Police Federation has welcomed the news that the county force has surpassed its target for new officers.
A total of 174 officers have swelled the ranks of Dorset Police since 2019, according to provisional Home Office figures - the original target was 166.
More than 20,000 new police officers have been hired in England and Wales – meeting a Conservative manifesto pledge.
James Dimmack, Chair of the organisation that represents the ‘rank and file’ officers of Dorset Police said the uplift is “hugely welcome” in getting the officers back onto the streets.
“That’s an uplift getting us back to where we should be, through years of attrition and austerity where policing numbers have been left to dwindle to an alarming rate,” he said.
“Whilst it’s really welcome, I see it as getting us back to a level footing where we need to push on from.”
Mr Dimmack said the challenge now is to bring the new recruits through the training process and get them experience on the job.
“Over the last eight to ten years there’s been little to no recruitment, so this is a huge bonus, but the reality is it is starting to trickle through,” he said.
“We’ve still got some pain to suffer in relation to getting these officers up to speed and fully trained, so we’ll probably see the full benefits of this in a year or so.”
He added: “What you can’t train is experience. That’s those lived experiences and those very different challenges, there are huge dangers that they’ll face out there.
“They have to learn how they deal with those, and that can only come through exposure to the myriad different and challenging scenarios you’re placed in within policing.”
The Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, David Sidwick, has called the recruitment drive part of a wider plan of action from the Conservatives to tackle crime across the nation.
He said: “This is the largest intake of trainee officers in Dorset since the creation of police and crime commissioners back in 2012.
“I am proud to be able to say to the residents and communities of our county that my pledge to them, when standing for election as commissioner, to make ‘policing more visible and connected’ is materialising.”
However, out of 43 forces, the Metropolitan Police was the only force to miss its individual target, falling short by about 1,000.
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