Lancashire Police to get 153 extra officers within 12 months, says government

New police recruitment targets for every force in England and Wales were announced by the government this morning (October 9).

It is part of the government's pledge to hire 20,000 new officers across England and Wales over the next three years.

In the first wave of the roll-out, the Home Office will provide £750 million to support the 43 forces to recruit up to 6,000 new officers by the end of 2020-21.

The first-year targets for officer recruitment in Lancashire will see the force's ranks boosted by 153 new officers.

The three forces with the highest recruitment target for the first year are Metropolitan Police (1,369), West Midlands (366) and Greater Manchester (347).

Other forces set to get a big boost in their numbers include West Yorkshire (256), Merseyside (200), Northumbria (185), Thames Valley (183) and Hampshire (156).

Lancashire has the 9th highest recruitment target out of 43 forces in England and Wales, with 153 new recruits to hit the streets next year.

The initial target was announced by Home Secretary Priti Patel at a National Policing Board meeting with representatives of frontline officers and police leaders on Tuesday.

Ms Patel said: "The public are clear they want to see more police officers on their streets, whether they live in the city or the countryside.

"This is the people's priority and it is exactly what the government is delivering.

"Every single police force in England and Wales will be able to recruit additional officers this year to help keep all of our communities safer."

It is not yet known how many extra officers the force will recruit over the next two years of the recruitment pledge.

All new recruits will be on top of those hired to fill exiting vacancies, the Home Office said.

The National Policing Board was set up by Prime Minister Boris Johnson in July to help achieve the government's recruitment pledge.

Police Federation of England and Wales national chairman John Apter said: "Yesterday's meeting was constructive and it is important that we, as the largest police staff association, were at the table to ensure our members were represented.

"Investment in policing is long overdue and for the first time we now have the actual number of officers each local force will increase by in the next year.

"These figures have been based on the current funding formula models and while this method is not perfect, I accept it is the only solution available to deliver the numbers quickly in year one.

"We now need to ensure that the formula is revisited for future years to ensure a fairer allocation of officers across all forces, but this is certainly a positive start and will provide a much-needed boost to my members and the communities they serve."