Hundreds of more police officers are being recruited in South Yorkshire after council tax increase

According to Government figures released, the process to recruit new officers by March 2023 in the whole of the county is on track.

The Home Office has announced that it is on course to meet its national target of recruiting an additional 6,000 police officer in England and Wales by March 2021, as online assessment centres mean forces can continue recruiting.

In South Yorkshire this will mean an extra 487 police officers, plus an extra 220 officers which will be funded by the Police and Crime Commissioner’s decision to increase the council tax in 2019/20.

This number is in addition to the estimated 779 new recruits that are needed to fill the spaces of those left by retiring and leaving the force up to March 31, 2023.

Dr Alan Billings, Police and Crime Commissioner for South Yorkshire, said: “These figures show that despite the current situation police officer recruitment is continuing at the projected pace.

“The targets for recruitment are ambitious but it is pleasing to see that we are receiving a high number of successful applicants, from across a range of backgrounds and diverse communities.

“In South Yorkshire we had already announced a recruitment process, funded through the council tax precept last year, and were working towards an additional 220 officers by March 2023.

“The Government initiative and the need to backfill posts vacant posts will mean that by March 2023 we will have an additional 1,486 officers, working across South Yorkshire.

“All new recruits are receiving tailored training so they can be safely deployed to the front line and support the police’s emergency response as quickly as possible.”