Local MP Alan Mak has welcomed the recruitment of 600 new police officers in Hampshire on the day that the Government delivered on its election pledge to recruit 20,000 new police officers nationally. Alan is a strong supporter of recruiting new police officers.
In 2019, Alan stood on a Conservative Party manifesto to recruit the new officers by the end of 2024. That promise to the electorate has now been fulfilled a full 18 months early, with the Government having recruited almost 21,000 new police officers according to figures published on Wednesday 26 April.
Of the 20,000 new officers, 600 have been recruited by Hampshire Constabulary, which covers the Havant Constituency. This brings the total number of police officers working for Hampshire Constabulary up to 3,403.
The Government had set Hampshire Constabulary a recruitment target of 498, but this has been exceed with 600 officers recruited. A further 50 will be recruited in the next year.
The Government’s Beating Crime Plan and Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act are already helping police to tackle serious crime head on. Since 2010, crime excluding fraud has been cut by over 50%, thefts have dropped by 20% and domestic burglaries by 30%. The Government has also taken 90,000 knives off the streets through stop and search and surrender initiatives since 2019.
Local MP Alan Mak said: “More police officers means we can do more to tackle crime in our local community, giving local police commanders more resources so our police are more active and visible. Everyone deserves to feel safe in our communities, on our streets and in our homes. Now we’ve delivered on our 2019 manifesto promise, with more than 20,000 new police officers nationally and I will continue campaigning in Parliament for more.”
