By Gavin Mackintosh-
The Government is to assess whether it has hit its manifesto pledge to hire 20,000 police officers in England and Wales.
The Home Office said it remains confident the target to hire the new recruits by the end of March will be reached but is waiting to receive final data, which is due to be published next month.
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Figures published in January showed more than 3,000 police officers needed to be hired in less than three months in order to meet the target.
As of December, 16,753 officers had been hired as part of the recruitment campaign, meaning 84% of the target has been reached, with 3,247 recruits still needed.
A Home Office spokeswoman yesterday(March 30) said: “We await the final data; however, we remain confident we will have delivered on the Government’s manifesto commitment to recruit 20,000 additional officers by the end of March 2023.
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“Thousands of extra police officers are already out on the beat making our streets safer, and when this programme is complete there will be more police officers in England and Wales than ever before.”
The department expected to spend £3.6 billion on the recruitment programme by March, with a total cost of £18.5 billion over the next 10 years, according to Whitehall’s spending watchdog.
In June, the National Audit Office (NAO) warned the recruitment campaign would “exacerbate pressure” on a criminal justice system which is “already under strain” in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
It also said hiring police community support officers (PCSOs), special constables or police staff to fill the roles could lead to vacancies elsewhere in the service.
A month earlier, outgoing chief inspector of constabulary Sir Thomas Winsor repeated warnings that the “sheer magnitude and speed” of the recruitment campaign “inevitably carries risks”, adding that there is a “heightened danger that people unsuited to policing may get through and be recruited”.
The Home Office said all recruits are subject to a “rigorous” vetting process and must meet national standards in order to be hired.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman previously insisted forces are “on track” to reach the milestone on Friday, despite claims from some opponents that the Government is lagging behind its 2019 commitment.
The Home Office is yet to state what measures it would take to oversee a vetting process that makes the integrity of the force under its jurisdiction fit for purpose.
The Eye Of Media.Com has in the past few months made regular contact with The Home Office, asking the government department to play its own role separate from that of police chiefs in pioneering a root and branch overhaul in the police force, bearing in mind that the collective rotten state of the institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic police force, reflects badly on the department.
The government department has in the past been rocked with allegation of racism, particularly in relation to its historical immigration policy , particularly in relation to the Windrush scandal.
Revelation that a Home Office contractor also failed to comply with its mandatory internal procedures of whistle blowing on a racist whassap group chat, contrary to internal procedures, has heightened suspicions of institutional racism in the government department.
The Home Office has continued to be dogged by allegations of racism, especially with recent rules that those who cross the boarder into the Uk illegally will be denied asylum.
It is a matter of debate whether policies to restrict immigration are necessary racist, limits need to be put on the number of people allowed into a small island like the Uk, as resources need to go round citizens of the Uk legally residing in the country.
But the Home Office still has the important task of tackling racism in the police force, and at the same time providing more funding to increase the number of honourable officers in the force.
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