Increase in police officers announced

Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer welcomes the £24m funding made available by Police and Crime Commissioner Alison Hernandez, which will enable the Force to increase the number of police officers on the streets over the next four years.

The Chief Constable supports the Police and Crime Plan (2017 to 2020) which is being published by the Police and Crime Commissioner on Friday 27 January.

Chief Constable Shaun Sawyer said: “This plan, along with the budget proposals for 2017/18, represent a definitive step forward in making the Force sustainable and resilient for the 21st Century.

“It will enable us to connect with our communities, which is a key issue for the Force and our partners, along with modernising our services and aligning our resources to the changing demand in our local, national and international policing landscape.

“Demand on the police is changing. We are still facing threats from organised crime and terrorism and must ensure we maintain and improve our capabilities to deal with this national threat. We are also facing the new and emerging threats from international cyber-crime and complex issues such as child sexual exploitation and modern slavery.

“We will be looking to develop our staff to meet these threats and protect the vulnerable.

“Through the use of the additional budget we will look to employ nearly 100 additional police officers onto the streets and into local policing, as well as 50 criminal investigators and 30 online record takers. The extra 100 police officers will bring the total number back up to 3,000.

“Devon and Cornwall Police prides itself on its local policing style and a team approach to keeping people safe. We will maintain the core elements within local policing to improve the connection with our communities, both digitally and through more traditional methods.

“The frontline has become very stretched over the past years of austerity. At the same time demand has increased and the need for specialist capabilities, such as firearms officers and public order trained staff, has grown to meet the national and international threats.

“The redesign and reprioritisation of our workforce will require us to move some staff from existing roles, such as PCSOs, to other police staff roles, new staff investigation roles or to join up as police officers depending on their career aspirations and suitability.

“The changes made over the coming years will enable us to better connect with our communities, detect and prevent harm, reduce crime, protect the most vulnerable and provide a high quality of service to the public when they need us.”