South Yorkshire Police boss calls for new bobbies to boost neighbourhood teams

South Yorkshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner wants new recruits to join neighbourhood teams.
Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner.Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner.
Dr Alan Billings, South Yorkshire Police and Crime Commissioner.

The Government recently announced that 20,000 new police officers are to be recruited nationally over the next three years, with 6,000 to be taken on in the first wave of the roll out in the next financial year.

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Dr Alan Billings, who oversees the way South Yorkshire Police is funded, run and performs, said the force was already planning on taking on an extra 50 officers this year before the Government announced its national recruitment drive.

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“We put the precept up in order to increase police officer numbers; we were already planning on bringing in 50 this year,” he said.

“The Government announced that there will be 20,000 extra over the next three years. We don’t know how many that will be for South Yorkshire.

“We have lost over 500 officers since 2010, we assume that what they are trying to do is restore the number that they have cut, that have been lost.

“If we get them, I will be arguing strongly that we see neighbourhood teams strengthened because that's the area that has been lost and has most impacted in the public.

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“They are the ones that they don’t see, they are the areas I get most pressure from the public to see improvements.”