Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner for Surrey, Ellie Vesey-Thompson, spoke to Patrick Christys on GB News last week about police recruitment in light of Suella Braverman addressing Police and Crime Commissioners at the National Police Chiefs Summit 2022.
Surrey Police and Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend and Ellie welcome what the Home Secretary has announced, particularly the continued focus on 'common sense policing' and 'making our streets, homes and transport networks safer'. Lisa wrote about this in her October Conservative Home column, which can be found here.
Ellie said,
"It is vital that we are able to attract talent from all sections of society, including those who do not have or want a degree. We have some excellent ex-forces officers in Surrey but we are simply not getting the numbers of ex-forces recruits we used to. Veterans are very well suited to the police, and so cutting red-tape to ensure this route is easily accessible to them is welcomed.
The latest figures from the Police Uplift Programme show that nationally, we have recruited more than 15,000 additional officers, well on the way to the 20,000 promised. This translates to 155 extra officers recruited in Surrey from 2020-2022, with more to come in 2022/23.
The College of Policing has been directed by the Home Secretary to build on their existing recruitment frameworks by considering options for a new non-degree entry route, to continue to deliver officers of the highest calibre. This should help recruitment in Surrey and beyond and ensure we can continue to focus on fighting real crime and keeping our residents safe. "
