AN ongoing honorary police recruitment drive which started before the pandemic began has been a success, according to the president of the Jersey Honorary Police Association.
Centenier David Curtis praised each parish for enlisting a number of new officers during an ‘overwhelming’ 2021.
However, he said that St Helier still had a number of vacancies which it was looking to fill and added that recruitment was always ‘at the forefront’ of the forces’ thoughts.
‘A number of parishes have done extremely well in recruiting high numbers of new officers and everyone has coped well during an overwhelming year.
‘It has been a success but we are always looking to recruit more officers,’ he said.
Mr Curtis added: ‘It has not come without its challenges. Covid restrictions have made it difficult to recruit and train new officers.
‘Many of our younger volunteers have families, other work commitments and some have found it difficult to balance those with their voluntary role.’
Mr Curtis revealed that St Helier had up to ten vacancies which he hoped would be filled this year.
‘We are back at pre-Covid levels for roles in St Helier, but we still have spaces.
‘We are running a comfortable operation but we can always do more,’ he said.
St John Constable Andy Jehan said that the parish – which has previously struggled to meet the required number of officers – had filled its final vacancy and now had a full team of 19 volunteers.
‘I am delighted that we now have a full complement and also have seven people on our waiting list, who are going to be given the opportunity to take up other voluntary work within the parish in the meantime.
‘Honorary policing is a great opportunity to learn new skills and help the community.
‘We have enlisted some very professional people from a range of different backgrounds,’ he said.
Mr Jehan said that training was ‘high on the agenda’ for 2022 and that it was a priority to make sure all his officers were ‘well equipped’ for their roles.
St Clement Constable Marcus Troy said that the parish had only one vacancy left, for which they were currently interviewing candidates.
‘We successfully recruited a number of positions last year and we tend to fill up quickly because we have a big population in the parish and a lot of people are keen to help out,’ he said.
‘I am really happy with the diversity in our team. We have a huge mix of nationalities, ethnicities and faiths, which is really helpful when operating within the parish,’ he added.
