Police bolstered with 6,620 extra officers and extra funding
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The government is bolstering the police with extra officers and
resources to cut crime and keep communities safe, as new statistics
show that an additional 6,620 officers have joined forces across
England and Wales. The figures published today (Thursday 28
January), which show progress from the launch of the campaign up to
the end of December, mean that the government’s campaign to recruit
20,000 additional officers over...Request free trial
The government is bolstering the police with extra officers and resources to cut crime and keep communities safe, as new statistics show that an additional 6,620 officers have joined forces across England and Wales. The figures published today (Thursday 28 January), which show progress from the launch of the campaign up to the end of December, mean that the government’s campaign to recruit 20,000 additional officers over the next three years remains ahead of schedule, having exceeded the target to recruit 6,000 officers by March. Of the new recruits, many will already be out supporting the ongoing police response to the pandemic, helping to stop the spread of coronavirus by assisting with enforcement action against those flouting the rules. The recruitment drive is at the centre of the government’s promise to back the police with more resources and support to cut crime, and today the Home Secretary has also announced an additional £20 million to help crack down on ‘neighbourhood crimes’ like burglary, robbery, theft and vehicle crime. This funding forms the second round of the Safer Streets fund, which launched in January last year. It will be open to both Police and Crime Commissioners and Local Authorities and go towards local-crime cutting interventions in residential areas. This includes simple changes to the design of high-crime areas, such as improved home security, increased street lighting and the installation of CCTV. The announcement will bring total investment in Safer Streets to £45m over two years, supporting even more areas that are disproportionately affected by neighbourhood crime with the tools to deliver tangible and sustainable impacts. Home Secretary Priti Patel said:
National Police Chiefs’ Council Chair Martin Hewitt:
Bernie O’Reilly, interim CEO of the College of Policing:
Today the Home Secretary will visit Hertfordshire Police to meet with new recruits and hear about their work responding to the pandemic. The Policing Minister will also be hosting a Zoom call with new officers and others from Nottinghamshire Police, to hear about the work the force is doing within the Safer Streets project, as well as supporting the coronavirus response. Figures today also show that diversity within the police workforce continues to grow. Of all new recruits, 788 identified as Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic, representing 10.2% of recruits who stated their ethnicity. This means the police workforce now includes 9,871 officers from these groups, making it more diverse than ever before. Also released today are figures for the entire police workforce across England and Wales. These figures show that as at 30 September 2020, the workforce had 216,155 (FTE) officers, staff and PCSOs – a total increase of 5.5% on the previous year. Anyone interested in applying to their local force can search ‘Join the Police’to find out more.
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