We counted them in, and watched them all leave

The Government are claiming, with great glee, the numbers of new recruits are on track for their 20,000 figure, but the true numbers leaving in their droves are being held very close to their chest. We know it’s a lot and a lot of those leaving are the experienced officers who have simply had enough. The current figures show 16,700 additional police officers have been recruited since April, 2020, and 1,420 in the past three months which sounds great, doesn’t it?

We should not forget those austerity cuts by Theresa May, supported by George Osborne and David Cameron, who cut the police numbers by 20,000 which is no coincidence but also 30,000 support staff who were never replaced, so even more police officers were used to carry out some of their very necessary tasks. I remember it well, and I saw the whole of policing change around me. We were never flush at the best of times, and now it was as if a swarm of locusts had devoured their way through a cornfield and those who were left were withered and broken.

As police officers, we had to fire-fight crime. We didn’t have the back-office staff for those jobs which released officers to do preventative work or hunt down the persistent criminals. When there weren’t police to attend 999 incidents, they had to come from somewhere so they came from neighbourhood and specialist units who had targeted drugs suppliers and burglars. The criminals couldn’t believe their luck. Officers often didn’t turn up until they had long gone and knowledge of their local criminals had disappeared for ever. The Government had sold the locks to the house along with the front door whilst there was a full-scale riot going on.

Canteens were closed, not just a place for refreshment, but the heart of every station; front offices closed, police stations sold off and social events ended. Officers changed from a community at work to attempting to get through the shift in one piece to get home as soon as possible. Poor mental health sky-rocketed.

Even though policing is in dire straits, the good news is the majority of the public are still great supporters who can see through the headlines. There are more minority groups and female officers than ever before and the majority of all recruits are intelligent and enthusiastic, whatever people may try to tell you, but for how long will they stay after the euphoria of joining the police, when the morale is so low? How long before they get fed up with the jibes of being compared to the likes of Carrick and Cousins, those criminals who wore police uniform.

There is always a danger in rushing recruiting. Standards may slip. There is a problem with who may be attracted and more importantly, those put off by the lack of decent pay to make ends meet whilst doing one of the most thankless jobs in the country, with minimal back up, poor morale and with those with agendas seeking blood at every opportunity snapping at their heels. How are we going to attract sufficient high calibre officers who have the ability and the traits required and who have the stamina to stay the course? I’m desperately trying to feel some hope, but I’m struggling, I’ll admit it.