Recruitment of officers top of Commissioner’s agenda

As part of her commitment to increasing the number of police on the streets of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, Police and Crime Commissioner, Donna Jones, has been meeting new recruits to find out more about the recruitment and training process.

Donna Jones, Police and Crime Commissioner, said “It was great to spend time with the new recruits and hear their perspectives on joining the force, find out which communities they are to support and a bit about their backgrounds.

I will be regularly checking in on the progress of the Constabulary’s ‘Class of 2021’ and ensuring that the Constabulary makes full use of its allocation of Government funding for additional officers.

“I have spoken to the Chief Constable about this and have been assured that she will make maximum use of the national funding and be able to meet my target of 600 additional officers force-wide.”

The Commissioner heard how the new Police Education Qualifications Framework that started in September 2020, enables new recruits to achieve a degree – BSc in Professional Policing Practice. There were 10,000 applications processed last year for all roles across the Constabulary.

The new recruits the Commissioner met today will be based within neighbourhood or response teams across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight while they continue their path to accreditation.