Boris Johnson's police recruitment pledge will bring 'logistical problems' says new policing minister

  • Video report by ITV News Political Correspondent Libby Wiener

Boris Johnson's new policing minister has admitted his boss's police recruitment pledge of 20,000 new officers within three years is "ambitious", and conceded there will be "logistical problems".

Speaking to ITV News, Kit Malthouse said: "A net extra 20,000 over the next 36 months is going to need mobilisation by the whole policing family."

"There will be logistical problems, there will be bottlenecks that need to be addressed but I think we can apply enough WD40, if you like, to the machine to make it work," he said.

The minister, who was promoted from his role in housing, added: "We hope we that we can start the recruitment programme in September which means the first new police officers will start to appear in the following year."

The prime minister, who has been in the midlands meeting police to discuss recruitment, was met by Brexit demonstrators upon arrival who protested "we demand a People's Vote" and shouted "Boris is a liar".

It comes after Mr Johnson continued to talk about building police numbers - a Tory election campaign promise - in his first House of Commons address as prime minister.

Speaking to MPs on Thursday, he said: "As I said on the steps of Downing Street this week, my job as prime minister is to make our streets safer."

"People want to see more officers in their neighbourhoods, protecting the public and cutting crime.

"I promised 20,000 extra officers and that recruitment will now start in earnest."

He added: "I've asked my right honourable friend the home secretary to ensure that this is treated as an absolute priority."

The College of Policing welcomed the policing pledge but echoed Mr Malthouse's warning of "logistical challenges" to achieving the goal, following the closure of police stations across the country and concerns over the lack of training instructors.

Chief executive Mike Cunningham told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "There are a wide variety of logistical challenges that come with the recruitment process.

"Not just getting people through the doors, (but) the assessment process, the attraction, recruitment campaigns, the vetting, all of those sorts of logistical challenges, and then of course training people, making sure they are fit for the responsibilities that they have."

He said the proposal is a "huge opportunity" to get a workforce up to scratch on modern policing and one that is more diverse.

Mr Johnson is aiming to reverse some of the work carried out by his predecessor Theresa May, who, as Home Secretary, cut police numbers significantly.

She was famously booed off stage after speaking at a Police Federation annual conference in 2012 when she sought to defend government policy to cut police numbers.

Her policy of cutting police numbers and funding has been blamed by many for the rise in violent crime and Mr Johnson is hoping to be seen as the person to reverse that trend.

At the Police Federation annual conference in 2012, Theresa May tried to defend cutting police numbers, while standing in front of a display criticising her policy. Credit: PA

How police numbers have fell since 2010:

The data is published by the Home Office and shows full-time equivalent numbers, not headcount.The list shows, from left to right: name of police force; total as of March 31 2010; total as of March 31 2019; percentage change.

  • Cleveland: 1,724; 1,198; down 31%

  • Hampshire: 3,748; 2,697; down 28%

  • Staffordshire: 2,161; 1,567; down 27%

  • Northumbria: 4,187; 3,081; down 26%

  • Durham: 1,507; 1,118; down 26%

  • Merseyside: 4,516; 3,396; down 25%

  • West Midlands: 8,626; 6,495; down 25%

  • Leicestershire: 2,317; 1,829; down 21%

  • Greater Manchester: 8,148; 6,444; down 21%

  • Lancashire: 3,649; 2,895; down 21%

  • South Yorkshire: 2,953; 2,370; down 20%

  • Nottinghamshire: 2,409; 1,936; down 20%

  • Avon & Somerset: 3,302; 2,676; down 19%

  • Sussex: 3,213; 2,629; down 18%

  • Gloucestershire: 1,309; 1,073; down 18%

  • Dorset: 1,486; 1,223; down 18%

  • West Mercia: 2,391; 1,989; down 17%

  • Warwickshire: 973; 817; down 16%

  • Wiltshire: 1,181; 992; down 16%

  • Devon & Cornwall: 3,556; 3,000; down 16%

  • Derbyshire: 2,074; 1,767; down 15%

  • Essex: 3606; 3,071; down 15%

  • City of London: 852; 739; down 13%

  • Northamptonshire: 1,343; 1,187; down 12%

  • West Yorkshire: 5,758; 5,137; down 11%

  • Lincolnshire: 1,206; 1,096; down 9%

  • Gwent: 1,437; 1,308; down 9%

  • Metropolitan Police: 33,367; 30,435; down 9%

  • North Wales: 1,590; 1,458; down 8%

  • Humberside: 2,058; 1,889; down 8%

  • North Yorkshire: 1,486; 1,377; down 7%

  • Cheshire: 2,155; 2,006; down 7%

  • Bedfordshire: 1,246; 1,164; down 7%

  • Thames Valley: 4,434; 4,149; down 6%

  • Cumbria: 1,238; 1,160; down 6%

  • Kent: 3,787; 3,553; down 6%

  • Suffolk: 1,246; 1,172; down 6%

  • Hertfordshire: 2,130; 2,009; down 6%

  • South Wales: 3,148; 2,986; down 5%

  • Dyfed-Powys: 1,195; 1,145; down 4%

  • Norfolk: 1,662; 1,609; down 3%

  • Cambridgeshire: 1,471; 1,447; down 2%

  • Surrey: 1,890; 1,882; down 0.4%

Police numbers have fell dramatically under the Tories, however some forces have suffered significantly more than others. Credit: PA

Not only will committing to this pledge prove he's carrying out his Tory leadership contest promises, it is also the kind of policy likely to be campaigned upon in any forthcoming general election.

Sceptics say Mr Johnson assembled his Cabinet in order to create a team able to beat Jeremy Corbyn in an election, and new Home Secretary Priti Patel will be shouting about her boss's police pledge in any campaign.

She and Mr Johnson have already set out plans for a new national policing board which is to be chaired by the home secretary.

The panel will bring together key police leaders, holding them to account for meeting the 20,000 officers target and working on a national response to other issues.

Ms Patel said: “Officers up and down the country put themselves in danger every day to keep us safe, they deserve our support.

“The rise we’ve seen in serious violence is deeply worrying. An additional 20,000 officers sends a clear message that we are committed to giving police the resources they need to tackle the scourge of crime.

Priti Patel is back in the frontline of British politics after being sidelined from Theresa May's government following secret meetings with Israeli officials. Credit: PA

“This is the start of a new relationship between the Government and the police working even more closely together to protect the public.”

Shadow police minister Louise Haigh said: "When it comes to policing, Boris Johnson simply cannot be trusted. He served in a government which promised to protect the police, then voted for brutal real-terms cuts.

"As mayor of London, he vowed to recruit thousands of officers, but police numbers fell on his watch.

"The damage caused by these broken promises and brutal cuts cannot be reversed and the know-how that thousands of experienced bobbies brought to the job is gone for good - at a time when we've never needed it more."