Ministers say police recruitment is rising The number of police officers will increase to record levels if Labour is returned to power, Home Secretary Jack Straw has said. He said extra investment and pressing ahead with a national recruitment campaign would help the government to meet the target. However, the Conservatives said the police recruitment campaign was failing and more officers were resigning than ever before. Mr Straw told MPs that 454 million had been made available for this financial year and for the next three years to bring police numbers to record levels by 2003 to 2004.
Recruitment continues at a high level.
But Tory Home Affairs spokesman Oliver Heald queried the recruitment process. There has been a one-off recruitment boost by allowing rejected applicants to join police forces. This process will soon have been completed and run its course. Liberal Democrats home affairs spokesman Simon Hughes said more should be done to stop officers from leaving the force. Norman's hopes for Tory change Links to more UK Politics stories are at the foot of the page.