Hertfordshire Police and Crime Commissioner Jonathan Ash-Edwards has welcomed news that a bid by his Office and Hertfordshire Constabulary for additional funding to boost the number of neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs has been approved by Ministers.

An additional 35 police officers will join Neighbourhood Policing Teams across Hertfordshire and an additional 20 Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) will be recruited.

The £3 million funding has been secured from the Government’s neighbourhood policing uplift and the new officers are expected to be recruited during the first half of the new financial year.

Jonathan Ash-Edwards, Police & Crime Commissioner for Hertfordshire, said:

“Strengthening local policing is a key priority in my Police & Crime Plan as I know that Hertfordshire residents want to see visible local policing and action on neighbourhood crime and anti-social behaviour.

“Neighbourhood policing teams play an important role in this work, through patrols in town centres, engaging with local communities and tackling burglary, shop theft, vehicle crime and anti-social behaviour.

“Boosting our neighbourhood policing teams with an additional 35 police officers and 20 PCSOs will mean additional officers in every district and borough working to tackle crime and make Hertfordshire safer.”

These extra officers are a further boost to those the Commissioner set out in his police budget earlier this year. It provided for a permanent increase to the police officer baseline number, taking it 2,405 officers, a new record high.