Cambridgeshire police chief 'can't be complacent' despite more new officers
The force saw a jump in recruits over a 12-month period
Last updated 20th Oct 2023
The chief constable of Cambridgeshire Police says the force's open culture has led to an increase in more officers.
Analysis of Home Office figures found more than 5.2% extra officers joined the force in March 2023 compared to 12 months earlier.
That's a rise from 1,645 in March 2022 to 1,731 in the same month this year.
Earlier this year, Cambridgeshire Police said it met the target of finding 206 extra officers as part of a government campaign launched in September 2019 to recruit 20,000 new officers.
Nick Dean is chief constable at the force:
"We're an embracing, open, transparent organisation with an excellent culture," he said.
"We've embraced the national uplift programme and explored all the avenues in terms of attracting people into this county.
"Throughout their training programme, they will be able to gain specialist skills, knowledge of different departments so that immediate visibility on the streets may not be seen immediately."
More than 170 new recruits have been welcomed to Cambridgeshire Police so far this year.
In March 2023, there were 12,605 police officers in the East of England which is a 4.8% increase on the same month last year.
While in England and Wales, the number of police officers between March this and last year jumped by more than 5%.
"We still can't be complacent"
"As you start to re-establish over 1,700 officers within the organisation, it takes time but certainly within the next 12 to 18 months, I think we will start to see the benefits of those recruited officers," Mr Dean added.
"Already we've seen success in certain categories of crime reducing, so people are seeing a benefit.
"But we still can't be complacent; we still need to work on the quality of our interactions with the public."