PCC delivers on promise to put more police officers on the streets.

Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen has made vital progress on her pledge to deliver stronger local policing across County Durham and Darlington – welcoming an extra 226 police officers to the streets.

The PCC can confirm the force has recruited 226 new officers since March 2019 They have been deployed to frontline policing, roads policing and also to supplement the number of detectives across the force, all of whom work together to ensure we keep our citizens, communities and businesses safe.

The recruits, who are at varying stages of training and deployment across the county, also work with our 146 Police and Community Support Officers (PCSOs). Durham now has around 55 PCSOs above the national average.

As part of a boost in recruits, the PCC’s support for a new shift pattern - introduced in January 2022- has also resulted in additional frontline capacity with an extra 60 police officers being available to deal more effectively with high-harm incidents occurring into the late evening and throughout the night.

Commissioner Allen said: “Local people want visible and accessible police officers who are there to support them when they need help most. I promised to bring the people of County Durham and Darlington a stronger and more formidable police service that understands and responds to their concerns – and that is exactly what I have delivered.

“As the national Uplift programme draws to a close this month, I can confirm an extra 226 police officers have joined the policing family. Many of these recruits are already making their presence felt by tackling the issues that matter most to residents and cause fear across our communities.

“We have also recruited additional call handlers in the last 12 months to ensure the public receives a high-quality response from the first point of contact with police, are maintaining our PCSO headcount to support proactive work tackling Neighbourhood Crime and Anti-Social Behaviour and invested time into growing the number of people who volunteer with the force and play an active role in our communities.

“I made it quite clear when I was elected as Police and Crime Commissioner that I would do everything possible to deliver a service the county could be proud of. We are held in high esteem nationally in so many areas of investigation and preventative work and this would not be possible without the dedicated and passionate people who police County Durham and Darlington. I have every faith we will continue to deliver the exceptional level of service that has already put Durham Constabulary firmly on the map.”

As part of this work, all victims of crime are given the contact details of their attending officer and the standard of service delivery they can expect.