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These initiatives were driven by Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, and are more likely to reflect personal policy preferences.
Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington has not introduced any legislation before Parliament
Lord Stevens of Kirkwhelpington has not co-sponsored any Bills in the current parliamentary sitting
The National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC) have confirmed that the police have a good supply of personal protective equipment (PPE) and they are working to oversee its distribution to forces. The Government continue to work closely with the police to ensure this continues.
The Government has published guidance on appropriate PPE for emergency workers, including the police. The NPCC and the College of Policing have issued operational guidance to all forces on the use of PPE tailored to their unique role to ensure officers and staff are protected sufficiently. The guidance covers how, when and what type of PPE to wear across a range of practical scenarios.
An explanatory note of the guidance is available here: https://www.college.police.uk/What-we-do/COVID-19/Documents/Personal-Protective-Equipment-Operational-Guidance-1.pdf
The Government has committed to increasing the number of police officers by 20,000 over the next three years.
The Home Office has confirmed the recruitment targets for every force in England and Wales in the first year of the uplift, and 6,000 additional officers will be recruited in forces across England and Wales by the end of March 2021. Details of the allocations in years two and three are still to be determined. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/home-office-announces-first-wave-of-20000-police-officer-uplift
Around 7,500 police officers leave the service each year, the majority through normal retirement. Forces will continue to fill these vacancies as a matter of routine. The Police Uplift Programme will deliver 20,000 completely new posts across policing in addition to replacing leavers.
Relatively few officers choose to leave their job before retirement, compared to other public and private sector workforces. Voluntary resignations remain low at a rate of under 2% of the workforce and the independent pay review bodies have concluded that police officer retention rates a stable.
Nevertheless, the Government is not complacent, and we believe that more can be done to improve the retention of key skills to support the uplift in police officer numbers. The Home Office is working with the National Police Chiefs’ Council, and other policing partners, to consider what further action may be needed to support retention.
The Home Secretary has already announced up to £10 million of additional funding for forces to increase the number of officers carrying TASER®. This will help forces to better protect themselves and the public from harm.
The use of TASER® remains an operational matter. Chief Officers decide the number of TASER® and the number of TASER® officers deployed based on their assessments of the threats and risks in their areas.
Since their introduction, Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) have brought real local accountability to how chief constables and their forces perform, and they are working hard to ensure that local communities have a stronger voice in policing. Beyond policing, PCCs have brought focus and drive to work with local partners, including on wider crime and criminal justice matters.
PCCs are already at the forefront of delivering local solutions to the issue of serious violence. In the 18 worst affected areas, the Government has provided locally accountable PCCs with up to £63.4m through surge funding in 2019-20 to help support operational and preventative activity; as well as an additional £35m in the same period to invest in Violence Reduction Units (VRUs). In December 2019, the Home Secretary announced a further £35m to continue funding VRUs in 2020-21.
The Early Intervention Youth Fund is also supporting 40 projects match-funded by PCCs, with £22m being made available over two years (2018-19 and 2019-20) to support communities in tackling the root causes of serious violence.