Allocation of officers recruited through first phase of government uplift programme confirmed

The allocation of the 156 new police officers who will join Hampshire Constabulary as part of the government’s announced uplift programme has been confirmed.

As of June 26, this year, we had completed the last of our recruitment activity for the first year of this programme, with 3,000 applications being received.

We are determined that the Constabulary truly reflects the communities we serve, and throughout the application process we have been seeking quality candidates as well as greater diversity.

We can now confirm how the 156 new recruits will be deployed across the force.

This allocation is based on thorough analysis of crime figures and the demand in each of our districts.

As a force we operate a ‘borderless’ policy, which ensures officers can be deployed away from their assigned location if it is deemed operationally necessary.

Each of the areas is also supported by a number of other teams within the force, including our response officers, investigations teams and our various specialist departments.

The remaining 43 new officers will be deployed across local crime investigation departments, our contact management team, and specialist criminal investigation teams such as the Child Abuse Investigation Team or our High Harm teams.

Assistant Chief Constable Maggie Blyth said: “We are constantly striving to serve and support all in our communities the best we can each day.

“Part of this is ensuring that, as a force, we truly reflect those we are serving.

“It is very pleasing to see that within the 3,000 applications received there 13 per cent who are from diverse backgrounds.

“I am also very happy that we have been able to push forward with our recruitment programme throughout the pandemic, and that we are now able to announce how we will be deploying the 156 officers who will be hired through the government uplift.

“It has been great to see many high quality candidates applying to join the force.

“Our aim is to become an employer of choice, focused on attraction, retention and progression, bringing the best and talented individuals into the Constabulary, ensuring they can all reach their true potential.”