A failure of leadership and bureaucratic paralysis is forcing record numbers of experienced officers to quit UK policing, former Home Secretary Suella Braverman has claimed.
Braverman spoke exclusively to GB News, as South Australia Police launch a campaign to recruit hundreds of disillusioned British bobbies.
The former Home Secretary said the brain drain of experienced officers was increasingly leaving forces here without the key skills they need to police effectively.
A delegation from South Australia Police arrived in the UK this week for a series of recruitment sessions in key cities over the next fortnight.
Suella Braverman spoke exclusively to GB News
GB NEWS
South Australia's police commissioner Grant Stevens appeared in a tongue in cheek social media ad, which saw him standing in the sea wearing beach shorts and urging experienced officers to think about relocating down under.
Commissioner Stevens is unapologetic about his hunt for British policing talent.
His force has already recruited and trained dozens of overseas officers this year alone.
The force is now aiming to attract further officers, not just from the UK, but also Ireland, Canada, and New Zealand.
Commissioner Stevens said: “South Australia Police are actively recruiting in several countries, including the UK.
“Our goal is to attract 200 experienced police officers, those who have at least three years' experience in the last five years, to consider South Australia as the new place to continue their policing careers.
There has already been keen interest, as increasing numbers of British officers leave the service, citing low morale, poor pay and conditions, and a lack of respect.
The Commissioner said: “We’ve had a lot of interest from experienced police officers.
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South Australia Police launch a campaign to recruit hundreds of disillusioned British bobbies
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“So far, we’ve had four courses in our academy made up of international and interstate police officers, and we’re aiming for more courses right through 2025.”
Although Suella Braverman said she fully understood the desire of police in Australia to recruit from a pool of experienced officers, she told GB News it pointed to a crisis within British policing.
Her comments come amid fresh indications that record numbers of experienced UK police officers are considering quitting.
A survey last month by Metfriendly, a financial services firm, found an alarming rise in officers considering a different career.
Around two-thirds of those questioned said they were either planning to retire, quit the service before retirement, or were weighing up their options.
Only a third of officers surveyed said they planned to stay within UK policing.
Braverman said: “In some ways, I’m not surprised by these figures because I think that policing is going through a crisis of confidence right now in our country.
“That’s for several reasons. I think there’s a failure of leadership at the top of the profession.
South Australia's police commissioner Grant Stevens appeared in a tongue in cheek social media ad
GB NEWS
“I also think that policing has become paralysed to a large degree by bureaucracy and paperwork. In many ways, people are not doing the job they signed up for."
Before his move to Australia, Chief Inspector Scott Collins had been a detective sergeant with Thames Valley police.
He told GB News: "I suppose the reason I left the UK was because I was seeking a better lifestyle for myself and my family, while still continuing in a career that I really enjoyed.
"I suppose policing has its complexities wherever you are in the world, but we all wanted to join to help people, and what I really love about South Australia police is the relationship it has with the community, allowing me to get back to those core reasons why I joined."
But the more officers who decide to quit Britain for policing overseas, the deeper the retention crisis within UK policing will become.
Suella Braverman said: "What needs to be done is, we need to empower the police.
"They need to know that they won't be thrown under a bus, either by a chief constable or the collective commentariat if they are doing their job within and law and reasonably.
"If we are losing that resource, it is very worrying, because we won't have the police officers to respond to violent incidents, to riots, we won't have the resource to be deployed when there are problems."
