Thames Valley announces record police numbers

The Chief Constable of Thames Valley Police has confirmed at a meeting that the Force has more police officers than ever before.

Building on the record numbers achieved last year Thames Valley Police has continued to grow, far outstripping the numbers seen in 2010.

As of 31st March this year the Force now has 5,120 police officers, more than 600 higher than in 2010 and 20% more than when the national uplift programme started in 2019.

Matthew Barber said, “Since I have been in post as Police & Crime Commissioner, the Force has grown in size every year. We now have a record number of officers and over the last year I have worked with the Chief Constable to double the number of officers who are in neighbourhood roles.

“Burglaries, robberies and vehicle crime are all down from the levels we saw before the pandemic and the growing number of officers joining the Force will allow the police to be more proactive in preventing crime.

“This year I agreed a budget of over £584m which will see the recruitment of more officers in the coming months and a continued drive to increase visibility in our communities".

Thames Valley has gone further than any other Force in exceeding the targets set for national recruitment. In 2019 the Home Office set targets nationally, including 609 additional officers for Thames Valley. We have now delivered 870 since that time, exceeding the original target by 42%!