Warwickshire force now has 1,161 police officers after recent recruitment.

A RECRUITMENT drive has seen Warwickshire Police numbers increase.

Since the beginning of September, the force said it has welcomed 40 new starters – 20 students on the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship course, 22 from the latest Detective Constable Degree Holder Entry Programme, plus seven new PCSOs.

A spokesperson said: “In recent years, there’s been a massive 45 per cent increase in the number of officers. At the end of March last year, we had more than 1,000 officers – up from around 800 in 2016, which was largely thanks to the Police Uplift Programme. [We] now have a total of 1,161 officers representing Warwickshire – the highest recorded number in the force’s 160-year-plus history.”

However, although the force says it has seen a “45 per cent increase”, that is only the case when compared to 2016, when numbers were at an all-time low following years of government austerity measures.

In 2010 the force had 973 officers and the previous high was 1,051 in March 2007.

In addition, the communities the force serves are ever expanding. The population of Warwickshire is steadily increasing; it has grown by around 16 per cent since 2002 and is now around 600,000.

In the past Unison – the union which represents Warwickshire police staff – have disputed office take-up figures, pointing out that around 125 police officers had been taken off the beat and put behind desks after redundancies in 2021.

It’s estimated that around 100 officers leave the force every year – through retirement or for other reasons – and so Warwickshire had to recruit at least 100 each year to maintain the manpower.

The spokesperson added: “As a force, we’re aiming to build a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve, and our new officers will draw on their skills to help police the communities of Warwickshire.”

To find out more go to the careers page on the Warwickshire Police website