Police and Crime Commissioner for Rutland and Leicestershire, Rupert Matthews, made a special visit to No.10 to mark the completion of a national 20,000 police officer recruitment uplift.

The Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland Police and Crime Commissioner was joined by Chief Constable Rob Nixon and PC Summer Lobo, who was recruited as part of Uplift Programme, at a special meeting hosted by Home Secretary Suella Braverman.

The national Police Uplift Programme was launched in 2019 to significantly boost police officer numbers across the country by 20,000.

Leicestershire Police successfully exceeded its target ahead of the deadline, recruiting 340 officers across the force - an increase of 17 per cent - to serve the city and two counties' communities more effectively.

The officers have joined the force through a variety of entry routes including the Initial Police Learning and Development Programme (IPLDP), the Degree Holder Entry Programme (DHEP), the Direct Entry Detective Programme (DC DHEP) and the Police Constable Degree Apprenticeship (PCDA).

PCC Rupert Matthews, PC Summer Lobo and Chief Constable Rob Nixon. Image credit: PCC.

Following his visit to Downing Street, Mr Matthews said: "This milestone is fantastic news for communities across the country including those in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. It means we now have an even more robust and proactive workforce committed to tackling the problems that matter most to local people.

"I was delighted to join Chief Constables and PCCs from across the country to mark the success of this drive with our Home Secretary Suella Braverman. The country now benefits from 149,500 police officers keeping us safe in our homes and public spaces and I am proud Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland has played its part in that achievement.

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"We now need to get back to work and continue delivering an outstanding service that the public can trust and be proud of."