Record number of UK police officers are rookies with just a few years of experience, figures show

Figures show that a RECORD proportion of police officers are novices.

Statistics from the Ministry of the Interior show that the number of employees with less than five years of professional experience now accounts for more than a third of the total.

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This has left emergency services struggling to find enough senior staff to train, while critics fear it will damage public confidence.

Former Sussex Criminal Police Chief Kevin Moore claimed cases were being dropped due to a lack of experienced officers.

He added, “Many of the new hires leave the organization before completing their first two years.”

The newcomer’s rise has been linked to former Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s drive to hire 20,000 civil servants.

Five years ago, for every 100 officers who had been in office for more than 20 years, there were 94 new officers.

The value has increased to 167 per 100.

Six of the 44 armed forces in England and Wales have at least four in ten officers who have served less than five years.

And earlier this month, West Yorkshire Police’s Supt Helen Brear had to step in to defend two baby-faced recruits who were being trolled online.

Shadow Police Minister Sarah Jones said: “The Conservatives have shut down policing for over 13 years and it is a complete disgrace that we have lost so much knowledge and experience of policing under their leadership.”

Tory MP Tim Loughton, a member of the House of Commons Home Affairs Committee, welcomed the recruitment drive but admitted: “We risk losing some of the gray hairs that the public trusts.”

The Home Office insisted it had hired more police officers than ever before.

It added: “They need full support to fulfill their potential.”