The proportion of women serving as police officers in Leicestershire and Rutland has reached its highest level, year on year, following a huge recruitment programme from Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Police. 

Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime Commissioner Rupert Matthews said 852 of the 2,335 police officers currently employed by Leicestershire and Rutland Police are female – 36.5 per cent of the total number of officers. 

The percentage of female officers has grown significantly since 2019 when the Government's Uplift Programme was first announced, increasing from 580 officers (30.7 per cent) to the current figure of 852.

In total, 297 extra police officers have been recruited through the scheme, well ahead of the target date set for the end of March 2023. The force is aiming to increase female representation to 37.2 per cent by the time the national recruitment programme closes.

Mr Matthews said: "This is a fantastic achievement and I am really proud of the force for continuing to meet its ambitions to recruit a fair and representative workforce.

"Ensuring our police officers fairly reflect the communities they serve is very important to me. I know the Chief Constable and senior leaders are working equally hard to increase diversity within the force with new support strategies and innovative recruitment processes to attract candidates from our ethnic minority communities.

"The uplift in officers on the streets is good news for everyone living in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. Our new officers are already making their presence felt across our neighbourhoods and I am looking forward to welcoming the remaining recruits over the next few months."

The Uplift drive, which aims to recruit 20,000 police officers on the nation's streets by March 2023, has already brought an additional 15,343 police officers to England and Wales since 2019.

Nationally, there are more female police officers than since records began with more than 50,000 women across the 43 polices forces in England and Wales. 

Of those hired since April 2020, 42.5 per cent have been women. 

Oakham itself has seen an increase in female officers in recent months, the Oakham Town and Barleythorpe team now consisting of:

• Inspector Lindsey Madeley-Harland
• Sergeant Paul Kear
• PCSO Lauren Lyall
• PCSO Maureen Quinn
• PC Kimberlee Newman

PCSO Lauren attended the Oakham Skatepark Project consolation on the 1st November 2022 at ROL House. Read more here.

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