Ms Whiteley said the mission was an important investment in frontline policing here in Western Australia and the objective was to attract skilled and experienced officers amidst a highly competitive employment market.

“The enthusiasm of attendees at the information sessions was infectious,” Ms Whiteley said.The delegation spoke to applicants who had literally packed their bags and put their homes on the market in anticipation of moving here.

Many attendees at the sessions told us the opportunity to work in Western Australia had re-invigorated them – this included officers who are passionate about the craft of policing and are willing to uproot their families and move to the other side of the world.”

The information sessions were held in London, Edinburgh, Dublin and Manchester from 25 February to 8 March, and were attended by 782 people.

During that time, almost 48,000 new users logged on to the Let’s Join Forces website and another 66 international applications were received. Recruiting police is currently a global challenge and this is felt even more sharply in Australia due to the highly competitive employment market,” Ms Whiteley said.

We have an advantage – Western Australia is a brilliant place to live and work, and I’m confident the overseas recruit campaign will attract highly skilled and experienced officers who will boost the frontline and enhance policing.

We are working hard to bring the first school of international recruits to WA later this year and in the meantime the Academy is in overdrive training new schools of officers.”