More young officers are leaving Thames Valley Police as the force is hit by a ‘vicious circle effect’, a new report has said.

In 2023/24, Thames Valley Police’s probationer leaver numbers increased from 97 to 209 while its attrition rate doubled to 16 per cent.

The figures were contained in a new highlight report on recruitment and retention, which was presented to the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel this week.

Trainee officers leaving during their probation period is part of a ‘policing-wide trend’, particularly those leaving through voluntary resignations, according to the report.

The most recent data on the breakdown of leavers for Thames valley, from 2022/23, showed that 22 per cent of leavers were retirees, while 55 per cent voluntarily resigned.

Meanwhile, over the last year, the force has seen a 12.5 per cent improvement in the rate of ‘substantive officers’ leaving the force – those who have completed their probation.

Despite some progress, the retention of probationers is hampered by a lack of senior officers to supervise them, according to the report, which was published by the office of Thames Valley Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber.

It read: “Whilst substantive officer leaver numbers are down, the length of service profile of the force is changing with a much greater proportion of officers young in service.

“It feels a fair assumption that there is a ‘vicious circle’ effect, where having a younger, less experienced workforce weakens our tutor and supervisory capacity, which in turn weakens our ability to settle and nurture our talent pipeline.”

Barber discussed what Thames Valley Police was doing to address its retention issues during this week’s Crime Panel meeting.

The Conservative, who was re-elected as commissioner in May, told councillors and others on the panel that one of the main reasons people left policing was that it was ‘just not for them’.

He said: “You might say, ‘there is nothing we can do about that’, but actually what we are trying to do about that is at the front end, preparing people more through the application and recruitment process, so that we don’t recruit someone, train them and then they find it’s not for them.”

The commissioner said this included things like applicants going on ‘ride-alongs’ with officers to get a feel for what policing is like.

Barber also suggested that the Covid-19 had impacted the retention of junior officers who did their training during the pandemic.

“He said: “They didn’t have that normal interaction with the rest of the experience of learning how to become a police officer.

“The real world is changing, and it may not be what people envisaged. It is a very difficult and stressful job.”