Police and Crime Commissioner Donna Jones has announced 90 more police officers will be recruited for Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary.
The 90 extra roles will mean the Commissioner has enabled the force to increase its police officer numbers by 815 since 2020. Once recruited, it will mean the force will have the highest number of police officers in over a decade.
This decision came after the Police and Crime Panel supported her 2025/26 budget proposal on Friday (31st January) which outlined funding for 50 more police officers through an increase in council tax. The extra 40 police officers has been made possible following the Government’s announcement to provide forces with an extra £100milllion to boost neighbourhood policing. The Constabulary’s share of the £100million equates to £2.6million per year allowing the Commissioner to pledge 90 more officers to serve communities.
Chief Constable Scott Chilton has welcomed the increase and has said the decision will bolster visible policing.
Speaking on the announcement, the PCC Donna Jones said:
“The year-on-year increase in police officer numbers and falling crime rates is a testament to Chief Constable Scott Chilton’s back-to-basics approach to crime fighting, supported by sound financial management.
“Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary is one of the fastest improving forces in the country. We are leading the way in neighbourhood policing with the successful implementation of my Local Bobby scheme; we now deliver one of the best performing 101 and 999 services nationally; charge rates have gone up by 34%, crime has gone down by almost 7,000 crimes a year, and the force’s response to shop theft has been heralded as one of the best in the country by retailers.
“We also have one of the largest reductions in knife crime nationwide, anti-social behaviour has plummeted by over 50% since 2021, and we have opened seven more police stations to the public over the last 12 months.
Article continues below this advertisement “It has been another transformative year. The Chief and I agree, this momentum must continue. As part of the extra 90 police officers announced today there will be 15 officers added to my Local Bobby scheme to drive up police visibility in rural areas.
Chief Constable Scott Chilton has said:
“Last year the people of Hampshire and the Isle of Wight supported policing with the funding for more police officers. It has made a tangible difference. Crime and anti-social behaviour are down across nearly all categories, and more criminals have faced justice. We will continue to drive down crime and this budget, again with the support of our communities and Commissioner Donna Jones, will help us to do just that.”
So the island will get two then,more pcc bullcrap
Worth pointing out that in 2010 the combined area had 3,748 police officers, 337 community support officers and 2,424 support staff. By 2017 that had reduced to 2,896, 385 and 1,421 respectively. Total loss of staffing between those dates alone was 23%. Don’t question why crime increased during that period, just blame the Tories and thank this government for the extra funding, although I would question why, if crime has reduced by 50% since 2021 as she implies, we need the extra 90? And what roles they will fill? She’s admitting that highest number of police officers for ‘over a decade’ tells us that its taken 15 years to get back to where we started, unless she’s quietly adding the support staff to the numbers. As of 2023 there were 3,200 actual police officers across the region. Now read the first line of this again. It’s not what they DO tell you that counts, is it?
I think it was a terrible idea to merge IOW with Hampshire. We’ll pay all the money into the pot via our ever increasing council tax, and we won’t get our fair share. Same with fire service, same is happening with the hospital…..and the same will happen with the council.
Regardless of whether ii was a good idea or not the reality is the IOW cannot stand alome, with a population of around 141000 or an average sized large town on the mainland how could we afford anything without combined buying, logically I would like to see the IOW council done away with and run from the mainland,that would save ten million plus a year in salaries and staffing and associated costs.
so we may get one or two .then..
Let’s hope we can see more traffic Police on
Island Roads.
We need to STOP Numpty’s speeding, speeding
is rife on the island.
Has the commissioner ever thought o reintroducing speed cameras to try and slow the island traffic down. More police okay but that will mean more police cars because they are never on foot patrol.
That’s all well and good but how many have left or been suspended/fired?