Concerns as number of full-time Nottinghamshire Police officers still lower than in 2010

In April, the Conservative Government reported on the outcomes of its three-year pledge to recruit 20,000 extra police officers across the country by March 2023, as part of the Police Uplift Programme.

Nottinghamshire Police set a target of recruiting 357 officers by headcount.

The report, which was discussed during the latest Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Panel meeting on June 5, showed 418 new officers were appointed over three years, which the force said significantly exceeded its target of 357.

This has brought the force’s officer headcount figure to 2,439.

However, Coun David Ellis, panel vice-chairman, said a distinction should be made between the number of officers by headcount and the number of full time or equivalent officers.

The Labour politician noted the force was simply “back where it was” a decade ago in terms of FTE officers.

Coun Ellis says in March 2010 – two months before the Conservatives came to power in a coalition with the Liberal Democrats – there were 2,409 FTE officers, before this number dropped to 1,936 as of March 2019.

As of March 2023, he says there are now 2,407 FTE officers in Nottinghamshire.

While the force was also granted temporary national funding for a further 50 officers, it is not expected these will remain in post permanently.

“The panel has welcomed the increase in the number of officers,” he said. “So we are just about back where we were in 2010. We are not higher than where we were, we are back to where we were.

“There has been an 8 per cent increase in population in that time. We have had a decade of declining numbers, a loss of expertise, and now were are back to where we were with a relatively inexperienced workforce, some of the problems we have heard of in terms of confidence and behaviour.”

Caroline Henry, Nottinghamshire police and crime commissioner, said the numbers meet the target of 2,357 FTE officers.

“The target was 2,357,” the Conservative said. “That was the figure we should have had after the uplift, but there was an opportunity to get funding for an extra 50.

“Originally, it was 31 and an extra 19, but we always knew we would not be able to keep them, we just took them early because we are always losing, but my target is 2,357.”

Coun Ellis said: “So we are lower than where we were in 2010?”

"Yes,” Mrs Henry replied.

Concerns were also raised over the numbers of police community support officers in north Nottinghamshire, particularly Bassetlaw.

Mrs Henry said there are currently 150 PCSOs and she is “committed to keeping them”.

An annual PCC report says the force’s headcount numbers are “the highest in more than a decade”.

“The recruitment has helped the expansion of a number of teams, including response, neighbourhood policing and Operation Reacher, as well as the creation of a new road crime team, among other benefits,” report documents say. “This is enabling greater visibility of officers across all areas of the county and supporting ongoing improvements in services for the public.”