WARWICKSHIRE Police has been praised for its contribution to boosting officer numbers nationally.
Following the announcement the Government had met its target of recruiting 20,000 new police officers, Warwickshire Police and Crime Commissioner Philip Seccombe said Warwickshire’s contribution to the total had been significant, despite being one of the smallest forces in the country.
Warwickshire Police’s officer headcount has grown by over 300 since 2016, with around half of these being funded through the Police Uplift Programme. The remainder were funded by local taxpayers through the police precept.
It means the county’s police force now has more than 1,100 police officers, which represents its highest total across a more than 160-year history. It moves the headcount ahead of that seen at the beginning of austerity in 2010, when the force had 973 officers and above the previous high of 1,051 in 2007.
Mr Seccombe said: “It’s great news for local communities as it means that there are now more officers for the chief constable to deploy, enabling the new operational policing model which is being rolled out across the county.
“It supports the establishment of new specialist teams, as well as allowing the force the flexibility to make changes in how it investigates crime, operating more effectively and delivering an improved response to the public.
“I am confident that as more and more of the newly recruited officers complete their training and go onto permanent active duty, we will also continue to see improvements in police visibility, including across our Safer Neighbourhood Teams, which continue to be highly valued by the public.”
