Rebecca Harris has welcomed the announcement that nearly 6,000 extra officers have been recruited in the first year of the Government’s major police recruitment drive, with 82 more in Essex alone. The addition of these new officers brings the total number of police across Essex up to 3,398 meaning there are now more frontline officers on our streets to keep the public safe.

Since the launch of the Government’s recruitment campaign one year ago, a total of 5,824 extra officers have joined police forces across England and Wales. These statistics confirm that the Government remains fully on track to meet its manifesto commitment of recruiting 20,000 extra officers by 2023, and is ahead of schedule to have the first 6,000 in place by March 2021.

This recruitment drive is at the centre of the Government’s commitment to back the police with more resources, powers and support to keep the public and their communities safe. Alongside the recruitment campaign, the Government is also boosting police pay by 2.5 per cent this year, equivalent to a constable receiving an extra £1,100, providing officers with an increase above inflation for the second year running, the largest pay rise in a decade.

The Government is also enshrining a new police covenant into law, which will offer enhanced support and protection for frontline officers, and is bringing forward legislation to double the maximum sentence for those convicted of assaults on frontline staff including police officers, firefighters and paramedics. Other steps to support our frontline officers include a £1.1 billion funding boost for police forces this year – the biggest increase in a decade, funding to provide over 8,000 more officers with Taser devices, and personalised new stop and search powers so that officers can effectively target repeat offenders.

Commenting, Rebecca Harris said:

“Getting more police officers onto our streets is one of the people’s priorities, and so I am delighted that in just over one year, this Conservative Government has already delivered an extra 82 officers across Essex.

“Every one of these officers will make an enormous difference in helping to cut crime and keep people safe – and I know that many more will follow as this Government continues to deliver on its promise to recruit 20,000 more over the next three years.

“By backing our police with the funding, powers and resources they need, we are keeping the public and our communities safe, so that people everywhere can live their lives free from the fear of crime.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel said:

“Getting more police officers on our streets is a priority for the British people – therefore a priority for me.  Just one year since we began recruiting, I am delighted that there are nearly 6,000 of the 20,000 additional officers on our streets cutting crime and making your communities safer.

“As we’ve seen from the frontline response to coronavirus, the work of each and every police officer helps to save lives and I would like to extend my gratitude to them, and to the new recruits, for joining the police and being a part of this heroic national effort.”