The police force that covers Milton Keynes has said it is on-track to meet the national recruitment targets as part of the uplift programme closing in 2023.
One of the main topics when it comes to policing in Milton Keynes so far this year, has been surrounding police numbers.
Thames Valley Police has said it is continuing its Police Officer recruitment activity and is 'on-track' to achieve its allocated numbers.
To date, the force says it has recruited 522 of the 609 officers allocated via the national programme.
43% of new recruits over the last 3 years have been women.
Thames Valley Police Chief Constable John Campbell said: “A diverse workforce is an important part of our operational effectiveness and is an essential element in maintaining public trust in policing all of our communities.
“Attracting people from a range of backgrounds brings knowledge, expertise and insight and helps us to build stronger relationships with the public, enabling us to serve and protect them more effectively.
“We remain encouraged by the fact that more women and Black, Asian and minority ethnic communities are applying to join us, to enjoy a fantastic career and make a difference to their communities.”
The police force states that over the last three years, over 11% of its new Police Officer recruits on average, are from ethnically diverse communities.
Earlier this year, the Milton Keynes Labour group released a press release regarding police numbers. The press release suggested that they had heard 2 new officers had been recruited for MK.
MKFM reached out to the MPs and Police and Crime Commissioner who have said that 78 officers had actually been recruited by March.
Ben Everitt MP told MKFM that his push for more police has been 'achieved'.
In April, in an exclusive interview with the Deputy Commander for Milton Keynes, MKFM heard that Milton Keynes had received the most new posts across the Thames Valley region.
The numbers that local police have tell us that Thames Valley Police sees approximately 600 posts across the force and Milton Keynes' local policing area will get the most which is 36, the most across the entire force.
The deputy told us that in 2021, 29 new officers joined the local policing area, 2021/22 saw 36 officers and the force is projecting that they will have 46 new student officers in MK in 2022/23.
READ MORE: MKFM EXCLUSIVE - Here is how many extra police officers there are in Milton Keynes
