[11 AUG 00]  WARWICKSHIRE CONSTABULARY NEWS
Hundreds More Officers For The Area

More than 240 extra police officers are being taken on in Warwickshire and the West Midlands to increase the numbers of bobbies on the beat, the Home Office has announced.

Additional funding has been released by the government to allow the West Midlands force to take on 213 new recruits and Warwickshire another 29.

This is on top of cash promised earlier this year for more officers. In total 9,000 new positions have been created nationwide.

It means that by 2003 there will be another 523 officers in total in the West Midlands, and 59 in Warwickshire.

David Williams, director of personnel at West Midlands Police said the challenge was now to recruit the staff.

He said:

"In the last two years we have relocated over 800 officers to beat policing. These new officers will be used to underpin our commitment to having as many as possible out on the streets in the frontline.

“People who feel they have the ability to help our crime fighting initiative should call our recruitment hotline on 0121 626 5824.”

Warwickshire’s Chief Constable John Burbeck welcomed the boost given to his force, and said it was more than he was expecting.

He said:

“Over the next two and a half years we will be recruiting an additional 59 police officers.

“This will certainly help us achieve our objective of boosting operational policing levels and providing the public with a more visible and accessible police service in Warwickshire.

“We are determined that the additional police officers will be used where the public can see them – on the streets and in our communities.”

John Rennie, chairman of Warwickshire Police Authority added:

“When we received our share of the first 5,000 officers, it came to 30. Our share of the further officers was anticipated to be only 24 officers and I am particularly delighted that our share will actually be 29 officers.”