A recruitment drive across local police forces has been praised by Lichfield and Burntwood’s MP.
Michael Fabricant said an additional 72 officers had been taken on by Staffordshire Police, while the West Midlands force seen 357 new recruits in the past year.
The Conservative MP said the figures meant plans for 20,000 extra police across the UK by 2023 remained on track.
“The addition of these new officers brings the total number of police across Staffordshire to 1,648 and 6,691 in the West Midlands – this means 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 6,620 extra officers have joined police forces across England and Wales.
“These figures confirm that the Government remains fully on track to meet its commitment of recruiting 20,000 extra officers by 2023 and has hit the target of recruiting 6,000 new officers by March 2021 well ahead of schedule.”
Michael Fabricant MP
The recruitment drive came on the back of a drop of more than 20,000 officers between 2009 and 2018.
Mr Fabricant said additional funding was also being made available to support localised crime initiatives.
“Alongside the recruitment campaign, the Government has announced the second round of the Safer Streets Fund, backed by £20million of new money, to crack down on neighbourhood crimes that blight our communities.
“This funding will enable commissioners and local authorities to make crime cutting interventions in residential areas to ensure people feel safe in their communities.”
Michael Fabricant MP
