Recruiting on hold

I’ve heard concerning stories coming from the Police College that recruiting is going to be put on hold from July for at least the rest of this year. Given the big push to get 1800 extra police, I thought this must surely be wrong, but a few more phone calls around the traps seem to confirm that some recruiting teams are indeed going to be shut down.

The explanation appears to be that as we have been so successful in recruiting, and resignations/retirements have slowed to a trickle, we are now over budget for staff, hence the stall.

I might be one of those who some think should head to the retirement paddock, but I still think someone like me can help the newbies coming through. “Old head fast legs” seems a pretty good mix to me, and those PSS returns aren’t making retirement look quite so rosy at the moment.

I’m no political genius, but I thought this country was now in the business of creating as many jobs as we can, as fast as we can. The maths shows we still have about 600 cops to find to make the target of 1800, so why not get on with that job? Doesn’t seem a good time to put the
brakes on.

Whither the non-sworn?

On that note, I remain a tad puzzled about the apparent rapid rise in non-sworn numbers, as recorded by Police News in previous issues. It seems we have doubled the goal of an extra 485. Good news, if you ask me, and well needed. But where are they all? I haven’t noticed any new additions in my district.

Waistline and wallet

I have to say that no takeaways or coffee-to-go available during lockdown has had a positive effect on both my waistline and my wallet. It really got me thinking about how the little things add up. It is one of the lessons we are alerted to in the Credit Union moneywise courses. I see they now have one-hour webinars on financial advice which I’d reckon are worth a look-see.

I bet we all have mates who have left their retirement plans too late and we could all do with understanding how to get on top of that debt.

Mind you, it’s hard to drive past that finger-lickin’ aroma on a cold night shift.

Stay safe out there...

Constable Iam Keen

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