Dorset Police has recruited an additional 113 student police officers as part of a national Uplift programme and, by the end of March, it plans to add a further 53 officers.

In 2019, the government announced plans to recruit an extra 20,000 officers over three years and, by the end of September 2022, a total of 15,343 additional officers had been recruited by police forces across England and Wales.

This is on top of existing planned recruitment.

The force has recruited officers by a variety of entry routes, including the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship, Degree Holder Entry Programme, Detective Degree Holder Entry Programme, as well as a number of officers re-joining the service and transferring to Dorset from other forces.

The Uplift funding injection has seen an increase in the number of women in policing, which has now reached more than 50,000 for the first time since records began. In Dorset, women now make up 37.5 per cent of police officers in the county and, since April 2020, a total of 43.8 per cent of new joiners to the force identify as female. There are also 50 per cent more ethnic officers in Dorset than there were three years ago.

Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, David Sidwick, said: “Priority two of my Police and Crime Plan is to make policing more ‘visible and connected’ and so I am delighted to see that Dorset has recruited over 100 new student police officers. I know just how much residents want to see the police out and about in their town, in their village, in their community, and the Uplift programme has already helped and will continue to help achieve that goal.

“The Uplift programme is definitely on target here in Dorset and I would like to thank all those involved in achieving such impressive recruitment figures. I have always said that a truly modern day police service needs to fully reflect the communities it serves and so I am absolutely delighted to see the increase in diversity in policing here in Dorset – with more women in policing and more ethnic officers than ever before. We must have a broader, more diverse range of people joining the police in order to achieve a more representative service and it looks like Dorset is well on course to achieve that.”

Assistant chief officer Jo Mosley, director of People and Support Services, said: “I am delighted that we have welcomed these much-needed extra officers to Dorset Police. Our student officers come from a range of age groups and backgrounds and bring a wealth of experience that will put them in good stead for the challenges they will undoubtedly face in policing.

“The force has worked extremely hard to recruit its share of the 20,000 extra officers promised by the government and I would like to thank all our recruitment and training teams for their ongoing commitment to making this a reality.

“Our recruitment drive is very much ongoing here in Dorset and I would strongly encourage anyone considering a career in policing to please visit our website to find out more. It really is a job like no other, where no two days are the same and one in which you can make a real difference to our communities.”

Student officer Syrie Hall, who joined Dorset Police earlier this year and is part way through her initial classroom training as part of the Detective Degree Holder Entry Programme, said: “I joined policing because I wanted to make a difference to people’s lives. Ever since I was a teenager I wanted to be a police officer, but I chose a different career path and went on to have children.

“Training is really interesting and varied and I am learning something new every day. I already feel part of a team within my cohort of student officers, but also within the wider Dorset Police family.”

You can apply to become a police officer for Dorset Police now. To start your application and find out more about the benefits of a career in the police, visit: https://recruitment-dcp-dp.org/dorset-your-police-career/police-officers/