150 more officers to join West Midlands Police following successful Home Office bid
The West Midlands is set to get an extra 150 neighbourhood police officers after a successful bid to the Home Office.
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Chief Constable Craig Guildford and the Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Simon Foster submitted a joint bid for the officers.
The PCC said the new police officers will make people and communities across the region safer.
In addition, 139 existing serving police officers will be redeployed into neighbourhood policing roles, while there will also be an additional 20 new PCSOs.
The application by the PCC was part of the government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, a pledge to deliver extra officers out on the streets across the country, to prevent and tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.
Simon Foster said: “My top priority since being elected has been to rebuild community policing across the West Midlands and these additional officers will contribute to achieving that aim.
“I applied to the Government for these 150 police officers through the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee and I am delighted to see that will be delivered.
“Increasing neighbourhood police numbers is particularly important in the West Midlands because the force still has about 700 fewer police officers and 500 fewer PCSOs than we did back in 2010.
“This is despite many other forces having more police officers than they have ever had in their force history – something which is deeply unfair. This is a contribution towards righting that wrong.”
He added: “We need an accessible, reassuring and visible presence out on the streets to prevent and tackle crime, promote community safety and keep the people, families, businesses and communities of the West Midlands safe and secure.”
In her letter confirming the news, Policing Minister Diana Johnson MP said: “Neighbourhood policing is the bedrock of the British policing model, yet the number of people who have seen uniformed officers in their local area has halved in the last decade.
" Now is the time for swift action to address this, to help rebuild the connection between police and the public that is key to securing their trust and confidence.”
