THE GOVERNMENT has launched its national campaign to recruit 20,000 new officers.

Along with other police forces around the country, Thames Valley Police is expecting to benefit from the uplift in policing numbers announced by the government in August.

Target recruitment numbers for Thames Valley Police have not yet been confirmed.

Speaking about the uplift, chief constable John Campbell said: “This is a very welcome development both for Thames Valley Police and for the communities that we serve.

"We know that crime is becoming more complex and maintaining the quality of investigation in a digital age requires more resources.

"This uplift in our numbers will help us to continue protecting the most vulnerable in our communities and stop crime from happening in the first place.”

In August, Thames Valley Police launched its new careers website and hosted a Facebook Live event focused on recruitment which drew a lot of interest from the public.

Deputy chief constable Jason Hogg said: “We are already in a good place with our recruitment processes and machinery.

“Increasing the number of police officers in our force takes more than just having great candidates.

"To cope with the increase numbers we also need to have training facilities and trainers in place, new uniforms, IT equipment, vehicles and buildings.

"This uplift is expected to be a substantial increase for the force but believe that we are well-prepared to meet whatever our allocated year one recruitment numbers will be by the end of March 2021.

“We are also looking to take advantage of this ‘once in a generation’ opportunity to shift the demographics of our force to better reflect the communities that we serve.

"We know that across Thames Valley 14 per cent of the population is from the BAME community but at present we only have five per cent BAME officers in our force.

"Improving our diversity is a major focus for us and we are putting in place a Positive Action and Engagement team that will be proactive in seeking out and recruiting the best talent in our local communities.

“Policing provides a unique career that allows recruits to make a difference in their local communities and create a safe environment for all.

"I would encourage anyone who is looking for a challenging and stimulating working environment to visit our new careers website to learn more about how to join Thames Valley Police.”