Chief Constable welcomes plans for extra officers

A DECISION to approve a budget which will see more than 100 extra police officers on the streets of Leicestershire has been welcomed by the force’s Chief Constable Simon Cole.

He said he was delighted that the budget, proposed by the Police and Crime Com- missioner Lord Willy Bach, had been approved by the Police and Crime Panel.

The overall package contains an increase in the amount of money paid by local people in their council tax, and Mr Cole said the money would be invested wisely.

He said: “For the first time in nearly ten years we enter a new financial year with an increase in the money available from the government to fund policing services, and the vast majority of the additional cash will go straight to the front line and into the heart of our communities.

“Over the next year we will recruit an extra 80 frontline police officers, with a further 27 joining us the following year.

“One hundred of them will be working day after day in local neighbourhoods, either as beat officers, detectives or patrol officers, helping to keep communities safe and responding to calls for assis- tance.

“The remaining seven officers will be deployed into a unit to target criminal exploitation in our communities.”

The budget will also fund the recruitment of some 45 additional police staff on a short-term basis in support of a number of initiatives.