Devon and Cornwall Police celebrate major recruitment drive
Almost 1,500 officers have been recruited since 2019
Devon and Cornwall Police says the 'biggest recruitment drive in the force's history' has paid off - with 1,446 new officers joining since 2019.
619 of those were funded by increases in council tax, and the national Uplift programme to recruit more officers.
Deputy Chief Constable Jim Colwell said: “Having had to reduce officer numbers, our communities had been asking for many years for a boost in officer numbers and we were delighted when the Uplift and council precept funding was made available to us.
“Our teams have worked tirelessly over the last three years to ensure we have recruited the right people with the right attributes to become a police officer in Devon & Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
"I have been fortunate enough to have met a number of our new recruits and they all share the same level of professionalism and dedication.
“While a number of these new officers will still be going through their training, there are a substantial number who are already out there in our communities making a real difference.
"We have been able to boost resources in a range of key teams and departments to help us keep people safe and bring dangerous offenders to justice.
"We have bolstered our frontline patrol teams across Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly, as well as increase resilience in our neighbourhood policing and Roads Policing teams.”
Police and Crime Commissioner for Devon, Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly Alison Hernandez has said: “Well done to Devon & Cornwall Police on achieving our target to deliver record number of police officers of 3,716 by Friday 31 March 2023.
“This is the largest amount of police officers we have had on record since the inception and is thanks to the Government and council taxpayers.
“Now we have the job of getting these officers fully trained with the experience they need to get out into our communities to serve the public who have long awaited their arrival.”