There is a natural assumption that police recruitment operates in a vacuum, independently of other areas of policing and, indeed, events happening in the outside world.

Our experience at All Police Jobs tells a different story. In fact, we regularly notice trends in police recruitment vacancies that, when we dig a little deeper, appear to have been directly impacted by events beyond the control of recruiters.

The most obvious example is that of a firearms officer. We currently have 34 vacancies for police firearms officer transferees. Up until a year ago, it would be rare to have more than ten. We strongly suspect this rise is related to the shooting of Chris Kaba by a Metropolitan Police Officer in 2022 who later stood trial for murder. Although the officer was found not guilty, the attention around the case has demonstrably impacted retention and recruitment in this area.

Another recent example is a marked increase in vacancies in firearms licensing departments which have doubled over the last four years.

It is the role of a Firearms Licensing Officer to decide whether or not to grant a firearms license. It has always carried significant responsibility. So why has there been a spike in vacancies?

On 12 August 2021 in Keyham, Plymouth, Jake Davison shot and killed five people, wounded two others and took his own life. Davison used a legally licensed gun. The force came in for a lot of criticism and the incident led to a review of firearms licensing.

Judging by the increase in the number of vacancies, it would appear people are also shunning this role altogether as a consequence of the media surrounding what happened in 2021.

Recruiters work hard, developing advertising campaigns to attract new police recruits and staff members to the police service, but world events will always be one area recruiters can’t control.

However, it is worth bearing in mind these are terrible, but also isolated incidents, especially when seen in the context that, in 2024, there were 17,589 police firearms operations and around 22,000 new firearms and shotgun certificates were issued.

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