Recruitment uplift success

Cambridgeshire Constabulary today became one of the first forces in the country to announce it had met its target under the national 20,000 officer recruitment drive.

A recent intake of officers on the constabulary’s degree-holders pathway pushed the headcount to 1756 officers, comfortably reaching the 1732 target.

This is the most officers in the force’s history. 

The pre-uplift baseline was 1526 officers, with 206 extra officers allocated as part of the recruitment drive.

These figures are on top of the “normal” anticipated recruitment levels, which ordinarily cater for retirements and those leaving for other reasons.

In addition, the force has increased the number of women and people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds serving as police officers.

Of the total of 500 officers recruited in the past three years, 218, or 43.6 per cent, were women and the proportion of the force’s officers who are female now stands at more than 35 per cent, up by five per cent in the past five years.

And of the 500, 28, or 5.5 per cent, were from ethnic minority backgrounds, meaning the proportion at a force level stands at 4.8 per cent, up by 1.5 per cent in the past five years.

The campaign to recruit 20,000 police officers nationally was launched in September 2019.

Chief Constable Nick Dean said the new recruits had already had positive effects on policing across the county.

He said: “It is great news for the force and the people of Cambridgeshire that we have hit our uplift target.

“These extra officers are already contributing towards an enhanced policing service for the public and I have been delighted to hear about the positive effect they have been having.

“It is also great to hear we’ve become a more diverse force, but we still have work to do to ensure we truly reflect the communities we service.

“Our focus now moves to maintaining the record number of officers we have and promoting the various routes open to those wanting to become a police officer. It is also a great opportunity to increase our diversity further and attract more talent into the force.

“There are still some misconceptions out there that you require a degree to apply to become a police officer. That is not the case but our degree apprenticeship – one of our most popular routes – does mean you will achieve a degree by the end of your training, with no student fees to repay.

“Policing remains a great career, with much to offer, and the genuine opportunity to make a positive difference to people’s lives.”

Police and Crime Commissioner, Darryl Preston said:  “I promised local residents that I would increase police officer numbers to record levels and we have done just that.

“I would like to thank the Chief Constable and his team who have worked incredibly hard over the last three years to meet the uplift recruitment target.

"It is testament to the constabulary that so many officers want to work in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough and this is further evidenced by high levels of officer retention.

“I welcome the increase in diversity and will continue to support the Chief and his team to ensure our police service is representative of the communities it serves.

“These officers will make a real difference to the safety of communities across our county.”

 The benefits of the increased officer numbers include:

• Additional officers into response and neighbourhood policing team as well as volume crime, rape and paedophile online investigation teams.
• Creation of Continual Professional Development Units, which support the student officer journey and develop operational and investigative capability.   
• Creation of a Digital Cyber Directorate, streamlining digital services and access to a hub of experts.
• Creation of a Domestic Abuse Early Intervention Desk, supporting and assisting officers attending domestic abuse incidents.
• Creation of Vulnerability Focus Desks, supporting front-line officers and supervisors providing early practical assistance and safeguarding advice.
• Creation of a Partnership and Prevention Hub, providing crime prevention advice and support.
• Extra officers provided by the force to the Eastern Region Specialist Operations Unit (ERSOU) to help tackle serious organised crime.

More on the various routes to becoming a police officer can be found on our website.

They include the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA), for those without a degree; the Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP), the Initial Police Learning and Development Programme (IPLDP), and our accelerated detective constable programme.