An extra 130 officers have been recruited by Leicestershire Police over the last six months

The force aims to boost its overall number by 600 by 2025
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An extra 130 officers have been recruited by Leicestershire Police over the last six months.

The new intake has beefed up the force to 2041 officers as the government has vowed to draft in another 20,000 officers across the UK in the next three years.

Leicestershire Police aims to boost its overall number by 600 by 2025.

An extra 130 officers have been recruited by Leicestershire Police over the last six monthsAn extra 130 officers have been recruited by Leicestershire Police over the last six months
An extra 130 officers have been recruited by Leicestershire Police over the last six months

Lord Willy Bach, Leicestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner, said: “These figures are good news for our communities and good news for our police force, particularly in these very challenging times.

“Over the years I have consistently called for more funds to recruit additional officers and now we see that the plans are well on track.

“These officers will be funded by my own budget and the Government’s uplift project.”

Lord Bach added: “Every community will benefit, with extra officers and new ways of working ensuring that there are more officers working to tackle local problems.

“One thing that remains very important to me is to increase the diversity of our officers to ensure that the workforce truly represents the community it serves.

“The recruitment and training teams have done a fantastic job in bringing all these new recruits on board.

“I urge people to continue to watch out for opportunities to join this excellent policing family.”

Leicestershire has been handed just over £400,000 of a £750 million Government pot to strengthen the thin blue line.

Chief Constable Simon Cole said: “We’re delighted to be in the position to recruit new officers.

“I’m pleased that a substantial amount have already joined our policing family and are either in training or have completed this and are out on the streets.

“This will go some way to replacing those we have lost over the previous decade.

“The current situation has not prevented us from continuing our recruitment drive.”

Mr Cole added: “I hope it will actively encourage some to consider a career with this force when they see just how much they can make a difference to others.

“Joining the police is like no other career.

“It is so rewarding and brings you an enormous sense of pride from protecting the vulnerable to saving lives.

“Not only that but it’s exciting, diverse and as the current situation proves, a vitally important role.

“Our population has grown and so has the complexity of crimes we have to deal with.

“It’s absolutely right that we have the resources necessary to carry out our duties to the best of our ability.

“We are also extremely keen to ensure that our force represents the diverse communities we police and therefore we welcome applications from all backgrounds.”

If you would like to find out more about joining Leicestershire Police check out the force’s recruitment pages here: https://www.leics.police.uk/police-forces/leicestershire-police/areas/leicestershire-force-content/careers/join-us/