The recruitment of 20,000 new police officers will begin
within weeks, confirming the commitment made by the Prime
Minister as he entered Downing Street.
The unprecedented drive to deliver more frontline officers
will start in September with the launch of a national
campaign, led by the Home Office.
Prime Minister said:
As I said on the steps of Downing Street this week, my
job as Prime Minister is to make our streets safer.
People want to see more officers in their neighbourhoods,
protecting the public and cutting crime.
I promised 20,000 extra officers and that recruitment
will now start in earnest.
The Prime Minister has said he wants recruitment completed
over the next three years. To support this the Government
will shortly set out plans for a new national policing
board.
Chaired by the Home Secretary and bringing together key
police leaders, it will hold the police to account for
meeting this target and drive the national response to the
most pressing issues that affect communities right across
the country.
Home Secretary said:
Officers up and down the country put themselves in danger
every day to keep us safe, they deserve our support.
The rise we’ve seen in serious violence is deeply
worrying. An additional 20,000 officers sends a clear
message that we are committed to giving police the
resources they need to tackle the scourge of crime.
This is the start of a new relationship between the
government and the police working even more closely
together to protect the public.
In addition - as part of ongoing work to tackle serious
violence - the Government will urgently review the pilot
which makes it simpler for officers to use stop and search
powers, with a view to rolling this out across all forces.
In April seven forces started a trial with relaxed
conditions on the use of Section 60 of the Criminal Justice
and Public Order Act.
The Prime Minister has been clear he fully supports the
police’s use of stop and search to tackle and disrupt those
carrying knives.
