'The Conservative Government is failing to deliver the promised 489 more police officers for Medway and Kent' - say local Lib Dems

Analysis of Home Office statistics by the Liberal Democrats has shown that a total of 312 extra officers have been recruited by Kent Police under the Government's uplift programme that started in September 2019.

It also reveals that Medway and Kent Police only recruited an extra 15 officers under the campaign in the last four months - fewer than are needed to meet the Conservatives' pledge of 20,000 more officers nationwide by March 2023.

To meet the Conservatives' own target of 489 by March 2023, that rate would have to increase to 20 per month over the final nine months of the programme.

Medway Liberal Democrats have slammed the government for failing to keep their promise to communities, adding that there needs to be a return to full and proper community policing.

Responding to the figures, Alan Wells, spokesperson for Medway Liberal Democrats said: "People in Medway and Kent are being let down and taken for granted by this Conservative Government. With so many local crimes going unsolved, we desperately need more police on our streets and in our communities.

"Liberal Democrats are calling for a return to proper community policing, where officers are visible, trusted and known personally to local people."

"The Conservatives' pledge to boost police officer numbers looks set to become yet another of their broken promises. They are letting down victims of crime and our communities right across our area."

ENDS

Notes to Editors

The 'Police officer uplift, published by the Home Office, is available online. The number of additional officers recruited under the Government's uplift programme for each force is in Table U2.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1-nk-YbR39LaQGh32vE0n4rYpkKN6dbmVmpnjRh4hGQw/edit#gid=1600277602