The Police are finally recruiting but is it cause to celebrate?

For many aspiring Police Officers out there, there has recently been a rare flare of recruitment activity that has given hope to being finally able to start a career in the Police. After almost three years of recruitment freezes, many Police forces are finally starting to open their doors to new applicants.

Forces who have taken part in recruitment drives in 2013 include Derbyshire, Staffordshire, Manchester and Nottingham and a few others. So does this mean that Police budget austerity and recruitment freezes are finally over? Hardly. Police budgets are set to tighten further as the Chancellor George Osborne seeks to further tighten the budgetary purse strings.

If we were to look closer at these recent recruitment figures, it can be seen that there's hardly a cause for celebration. Staffordshire Police's recent recruitment drive attracted 1400 applicants for just fourteen positions, that translates to around 100 people per position, an extraordinary ratio for any job seeker. This isn't just an isolated case either, North Yorkshire Police recently reported 500,000 phone calls for just 70 jobs, a staggering amount.

With such figures in mind it is easy to imagine just how stiff competition is. This is particularly true for external applicants (those who are not PCSOs or Special Constables), they are having to compete with a wealth of candidates who have hands on experience of the role that they are applying for and are known to those currently serving within their chosen force. While this can be argued to be a good thing for the force, it does not improve the ply of the average applicant who possesses the determination and skills needed to be a Police Officer but finds himself without the experience of internal applicants.

Not only are these short recruitment bursts proving difficult for candidates but Police numbers are still falling despite these recruitment drives. The number of officers within Staffordshire's Police force are set to fall to 1750 by 2015 from their peak of 2,347 in 2006, this is a nationwide trend and due to further cutbacks within forces, this is certainly not a trend that will be reversed any time soon.

In the current recruitment climate it is easy to see just how difficult becoming a Police Officer is. The most determined of candidates will have to steel themselves against the odds, apply for internal positions as Police Special Constables and PCSOs and keep applying. As Britain recovers from it's economic crisis, it can be hoped that Police Forces will receive a much needed fresh injection of cash that will see larger and more frequent recruitment drives.

Written by

Matthew Hayes

Creator of http://www.applicationformpolice.co.uk and author of The Police Application Guide, a guide that offers Police application help to aspiring Police Officers.