Notts Police have launched a recruitment drive for the first time in two years which will open tomorrow (Friday May 5) and lead to 84 new jobs.
Police and Crime Commissioner Paddy Tipping said nationally there is currently an ‘all-time’ low number of officers but £54 million – 25 per cent of the general budget – has been saved over the past five years to employ more officers across Notts.
The force is recruiting officers who can speak different languages so they can better understand and communicate with people of ethnic minorities.
They say a more diverse workforce will build trust across communities which will lead to the sharing of information to help prevent crime.
Chief Constable Craig Guildford said: “Policing needs to be as effective as it can be in the future – and that’s with a mixed team. It’s a team which better represents the communities that it serves.”
Chief Constable Guildford and Crime Commissioner Tipping spoke this afternoon at The Forest Tram Stop and they said they hope to employ more officers after the county, and national, general elections.
Mr Tipping said: “Police officers are at an all-time low. We’ve lost 20,000 officers nationally over the past five years and we haven’t had so few officers for 30 years.
“This is a big occasion for us having new officers join us and advertising for more to ensure people feel safe and secure on the streets in the city and county.”
He added 12 per cent of the population of Nottingham come from different backgrounds and cultures and less than four per cent of officers represent those cultures.
“We need to have more officers from different backgrounds who can communicate. At the end of the day, the police force needs to reflect the wider public – and it does not at the moment,” Mr Tipping said.
“I’ve always lived in the inner-city of Nottingham and I know there’s been antipathy and sometimes suspicion of the police from the black and Asian community.
“I think having a police force that reflects them, so they can associate with them, will lead to better, more meaningful conversations and probably more information [coming through].”
Recruitment applications open on Friday May 5 on the force’s website.
