Less than half of new police recruits in Sussex female

Less than half of recently hired police officers in Sussex are female, according to new figures.

As part of a 2019 election manifesto pledge, the Government promised an uplift of 20,000 new police officers by March 2023 – alongside a campaign to improve gender and ethnic diversity in the force.

Data from the Home Office shows that female recruits made up just 44% of the 467 police officers hired by Sussex Police between April 2020 – when gender breakdowns of new officers were first recorded nationally – and March this year.

This is higher than across England and Wales as a whole, where 42% of new police recruits were female.

The ratio of female to male police officers at Sussex Police has risen slightly from 35% in March 2019 to 36% this year, but critics argue the uplift has not gone far enough to make police forces representative of their communities.

Jemima Olchawski, chief executive of the Fawcett Society, a charity campaigning for gender equality, said that trust in the police had been "shaken" by a "culture of misogyny" in certain forces.

She said: "These stats represent some welcome progress but to get to equality we need more women entering the force – and that means recognising there is a real problem with sexism and taking meaningful action to stamp it out."

Women made up at least half of new recruits in just three forces – Lancashire, Great Manchester, and Derbyshire.

By contrast, Wiltshire Police recruited the fewest female officers, at just 33%.

The figures are a headcount of the number of people hired – female officers are also more likely to work part-time, meaning that the number of female police officers on the streets is likely to be lower than these numbers suggest.