Recruiting 8,000 more police officers

 At the last election the Conservatives promised to recruit 20,000 more police officers. We have kept that promise.

Today, 10th June 2024, we announced a manifesto commitment to recruit a further 8,000 more police officers. 

Under the Conservatives, crime has fallen by 54 per cent since 2010 and we have recruited 20,000 new police officers since 2019, but we know we need to do more to improve local policing.

• That is why we will recruit 8,000 new full-time police officers with full power of arrest as part of a new Neighbourhood Policing Uplift Programme. This new manifesto commitment will mean a new police officer for every ward in England and Wales.
• People expect to see police officers on the streets where they live. Our 8,000 extra officers will be focused solely on policing their local beat, cutting crime and helping people feel safer in their area.

We will do this by:

• Recruiting 8,000 new fully warranted police officers as part of a new neighbourhood policing uplift programme. We will build on the success of our Police Uplift Programme that has delivered 20,000 more police since 2019 by recruiting an additional 8,000 police officers with the full power of arrest – that means an additional police officer for every ward in England and Wales (Home Office, National Statistics, 24 January 2024).

• Ensuring that these new officers are focused on their local neighbourhoods. These officers will work as part of existing neighbourhood teams, which will ensure every neighbourhood will have a genuine and more continuous police officer coverage. We will also require forces not to offset these additional officers by diverting a police officer, already dedicated to neighbourhood duties, to other purposes.

• Rolling out Hotspot Policing to all police forces to cut anti-social behaviour. We will roll out our successful hotspot policing programme across the whole of England and Wales over the next Parliament. This will ensure that an additional 3 to 4.5 million hours of patrolling can take place in hundreds of hotspots, proving further protection against anti-social behaviour and serious violence. Anti-social behaviour is also down by nearly 50 percent in some hotspot areas (Home Office, Press Release, 15 February 2024).

Costing:

This will be part-funded through removing the student discount to the Immigration Health Surcharge and by increasing all visa fees by 25 per cent. Of the 8,000 total officers, 2,000 will be recruited in 2024-25, 2,000 in 2025-26 and 2,000 in 2026-27, reaching 8,000 in 2027-28. The Surcharge to students will rise to £1,035 and we will increase all visa fees by 25 per cent. We will legislate to ensure that the additional funds raised from the IHS and visa fee increases can be used on wider public services.