The overall number of police officers in North Wales has dropped by 9% in the last two years a Freedom of Information request has revealed. 

The worst hit have been the number of young police officers, which has dropped by 70% in the same time.

The Flintshire Chronicle report:

THE number of young police officers in North Wales has plummeted by more than 70% in two years.

Officers under the age of 26 represent just 1% of the force – the sixth lowest figure in the UK.

MP for Delyn and Shadow Police Minister David Hanson said: “It is vital that we get young people engaged and wanting to join the police – the cuts in funding [20%] and consequential recruitment freeze in many forces is now leading to a fall in younger members of the police. The public need the police to reflect its make-up – this has the real potential to further hit confidence in policing.”

You can read the full story here. 

Matthew Burgess
http://www.mattburgess.co
I am a journalist and author. I am a journalist at the UK edition of WIRED magazine. In 2015, my first book Freedom of Information: A Practical Guide for UK Journalists, was published. My second book Reed Hastings: Building Netflix, was published in March 2020. I created FOI Directory in 2012 and have maintained it in my spare time ever since.