Recruitment and retention

ANALYSIS: A long-awaited review of police resources and policing in Australia’s Northern Territory has called for an increase in officer numbers, a building programme for remote facilities, better resource management and a fatigue management plan for officers, after what review author and former NTPF officer Vince Kelly described as a “decade-long period of organisational trauma”, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

OPINION: Policing in the UK faces a major challenge around recruitment and retention, with much of the debate focused on recruits’ resilience, life experiences, and expectations; but Professor Tony Blockley, Head of Criminology, Investigation and Policing at Leeds Trinity University, believes that such discourse overlooks both generational differences and entrenched police practices, and argues that it’s time to “refocus the lens”.

ANALYSIS: Next week will see police and crime commissioner, mayoral and local council elections in the UK, with a general election due in the next few months; former police officer Mark Brown, now a policing commentator and associate lecturer at the University of Southampton, looks at the neighbourhood policing proposals being put forward by the two main political parties, and how they could affect frontline delivery.

FEATURE: New research by Professor Sarah Charman and Dr Jemma Tyson of the University of Portsmouth, based on interviews with officers resigning from forces in England and Wales, suggests that organisational inflexibility remains a key factor in the increasing number of officers – particularly women – leaving the service, with some forces and senior officers only paying “lip service” to the options for flexible working arrangements, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: Following an article in Policing Insight in 2018, Cambridge University PhD Researcher Emily Quin began exploring the idea of the ‘copper’s nose’, and how any policing ‘sixth sense’ could be defined and measured; she spoke to Policing Insight’s Martin Gallagher – author of the original piece – about her work so far, the importance of talking directly to officers, and what the eventual findings could mean for policing.

FEATURE: A recent joint report by inspectorates across the criminal justice system in England and Wales warns that police forces will need to recruit almost 20,000 more officers as increasing numbers of resignations – particularly among inexperienced and under pressure Uplift recruits – continue to drive the growing attrition rate, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

FEATURE: University of Portsmouth Policing Lecturer David Knowles and Teaching Fellow Claire Smith visited a number of further education colleges near the city to encourage students to apply for the University’s professional policing degree; as well as learning the best ways to engage young people, they also identified some important digital communications lessons for policing.

FEATURE: A recent survey of An Garda Síochána officers and staff highlighted concerns around training, a lack of performance culture, and poor change management, while at a Policing Authority meeting discussing the report, Commissioner Drew Harris told Authority members that 27% of the force’s staff had applied to transfer ahead of a new bill which would remove their Civil Service status, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

INTERVIEW: The ‘degree-entry’ debate can often be too focused on England and Wales, but research from former police officer turned academic Dr Andy Tatnell doesn’t have that problem; his thesis looks at the interesting differences in how Scotland, Sweden and Finland handle the complex work of training up their new frontline cops, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

JOBS ADVERT: Applications are invited from candidates who are ready to be promoted to the role of Chief Superintendent, Superintendent or Chief Inspector for both detective and uniformed roles. Cumbria Constabulary is looking for highly motivated, skilled professionals to join a high performance team.

ANALYSIS: As organisations, individuals and communities around the world look to mark International Women’s Day, Dr Sarah Jane Fox of the University of Leicester Law School looks at the progress and challenges around women’s representation and roles in policing globally, and considers what more policing could and should be doing to achieve gender equality and equity.

FEATURE: Police recruitment has become increasingly challenging, particularly in reaction to addressing community under-representation; Policing Insight’s Vernon White, a former Chief of Ottawa Police and RCMP officer, looks back at a recruitment programme in northern Canada’s Nunavut territory, where English Second Language classes and corrective laser eye surgery were among the initiatives employed to increase recruitment from the Inuit community.

FEATURE: The Garda Representative Association (GRA) has claimed the force faces an “unprecedented retention crisis” after exit interviews of Gardaí highlighted unfair treatment by management, low morale and lack of support as reasons for leaving the force; but An Garda Síochána says resignation levels are “far below” those of UK forces, with “historically high numbers of extensions and promotions” demonstrating a high level of commitment by officers, reports Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons.

FEATURE: Delivering the keynote address at the Canterbury Centre for Policing Research’s annual conference, Kent Chief Constable Tim Smith identified the problems facing policing at a national and local level – including concerns about politicisation, funding challenges, and a highly inexperienced workforce post-Uplift, as Policing Insight’s James Sweetland reports.

ANALYSIS: One of the arguments put forward for the launch of new non-degree recruitment pathways in the UK is that the public want police officers on the streets rather than in classrooms; but research by former police officer Tom Andrews, now a University of Derby Policing Lecturer, suggests that the public are in favour of post-A Level qualifications for police officers – just don’t call them degrees.

INTERVIEW: In recent years – and particularly since the Covid pandemic – the levels of public trust and confidence in policing in the UK have shown a worrying decline; Policing Insight’s Martin Gallagher spoke to Prof Ros Searle, an occupational psychologist and specialist in organisational trust, about the challenges facing policing, and what it can do around recruitment and leadership to rebuild that trust and confidence.

JOB ADVERTISEMENT: The University of South Wales is seeking to appoint two Lecturers in Policing and Criminology. The university is currently in partnership with five Police Forces and have recently won the contract to deliver to two new partner forces, South Wales Police and Gwent Police. We are looking for talented individuals to work across our entire provision and have a particular demand in the Dorset and Devon and Cornwall areas.

FEATURE: As we welcome in 2024, Policing Insight Editor Keith Potter looks back over what the past 12 months have meant for policing in the UK and internationally, how those issues have been covered by Policing Insight, and the continuing challenges and opportunities for the year ahead.

FEATURE: A recruitment programme launched by the Queensland Police Service (QPS) focusing on attracting indigenous recruits to the QPS-run Protective Services Group has led to stronger relationships between the police and the community, and seen a 50% fall in youth crime, theft and offences against property, as Policing Insight’s Sarah Gibbons reports.

ANALYSIS: Policing Insight’s Ian Weinfass reveals how many candidates have applied for each of the top jobs in policing in England and Wales over the past three years, and finds out what the likes of HM Chief Inspector of Constabulary Andy Cooke, Association of Police and Crime Commissioners Chair Donna Jones and others believe this shows about the state of the process.

OPINION: South Yorkshire Police Detective Chief Inspector Aneela Khalil-Khan is one of the country’s most senior female officers of colour, and recently completed a Fulbright Scholarship study looking at the recruitment, retention, and progression of minority female officers in the UK and the US; in this article she explains the findings from her research, and shares some of her own personal experiences.

OPINION: The decision to implement a third, non-degree entry route into UK policing may already have been made, but University of Central Lancashire Policing Lecturer David Marshall believes the move to bypass the current degree entry routes will negatively impact on efforts to professionalise policing, create a two-tier service, and do little to address falling levels of trusts and confidence in the police.

LONG READ: Having previously considered some of the wider issues around policing’s approach to the exponential growth in volume and complexity of data sources for investigations and intelligence gathering, in this latest in a series of features on the police data challenge, Policing Insight’s Keith Potter looks at the concerns around staffing – from skills gaps and accreditation to leadership literacy and implementation.

OPINION: The UK’s neighbourhood policing focus has dwindled significantly over the past decade, as forces enduring funding cuts redirected resources towards response policing and emerging complex threats; University of East London Policing Professor John Coxhead argues that although the Uplift recruitment programme has led to an increase in the workforce, pledges to recruit a new wave of neighbourhood officers will see forces facing fresh challenges around building teams from scratch, and gaining the trust and confidence of communities.