More than £1.5 million extra cash to be spent on police over the border in Northamptonshire

More than £1.5 million extra cash is to be pumped into fighting crime in Northamptonshire.

Rural policing, neighbourhood policing, knife crime and high-tech investigations will all get a crucial shot in the arm.

The funding boost comes on top of an extra £1.3 million being ploughed into expanding Northamptonshire Police’s Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) network.

“Taken together these projects are part of an ongoing push by the police, fire and crime commissioner and chief constable to improve policing in Northamptonshire and marks one of the most significant investments in the force of recent years,” said Northamptonshire Police.

Some £750,000 is being generated by the council tax precept, £400,000 by the Home Office and the rest by existing resources.

The vital cash injection will support initiatives such as:

· More officers and specialist vehicles in Rural Policing teams to increase engagement with and operational capacity in rural communities. This includes mobile police stations to increase the visible police presence rural areas

· Deploying 20 extra officers to neighbourhood policing teams across the county, working in communities to tackle issues such as anti-social behaviour and crime in our town centres

· Committing an additional £100,000 to support the force tackling knife crime

· Continuing support for the dog section with five new handlers and new vehicles

· Improving the way data is retrieved from phones and other devices by creating a digital hub to speed up and improve the quality of investigations

· Investing £80,000 to fund programmes that will prevent sexual violence.

Northamptonshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Stephen Mold said he was “excited” by the increased capacity the force will have to fight crime.

“This is another major investment in policing in Northamptonshire that will benefit people across the county.

“Taken together with the increased number of police officers and our plans to almost double our ANPR network, these investments support the chief constable in his robust plans to crack down harder on crime,” said Stephen.

“We have managed our financial plans so that we can invest in the future.

“As the chief constable reaches his second anniversary at the helm of Northamptonshire Police, to give him the ability to steer the force on a course of further improvement and towards delivering the exceptional service that the people of Northamptonshire deserve.”

The new schemes will be launched immediately.

Chief Constable Nick Adderley said: “This is a major investment in the future of Northamptonshire Police and I am absolutely determined that people will see and feel the difference in their communities.

“Over my two years here, this force has moved forward at pace and the ambition that I share with the Commissioner is to be among the best.”

Nick added: “The initiatives we have been able to announce today will mean we can continue to make progress and provide the great policing service that we all joined up to give.”