NORTH Yorkshire Police has exceeded the Government's police officer recruitment target for the area by almost 30 per cent, new figures show.

The Home Office data shows 251 officers were recruited through the programme in North Yorkshire as of March – 29 per cent above the target of 194 new officers in the area.

The data also shows there were 1,701 total police officers for the area in March 2023, a six per cent increase from 1,604 the year before.

North Yorkshire Police Deputy Chief Constable, Mabs Hussain, said: “North Yorkshire Police is a great place to work and we’re incredibly proud of every one of our officers who are committed to protecting our communities 24/7.

"Policing is a career which has a lot to offer and by implementing a number of entry routes, we want to make sure it is open to anyone who has the aptitude and passion for delivering the highest quality service to our public.

“Our partnership with the Open University has not only enabled us to strengthen the opportunities we offer recruits, but it also meant studying and training could continue through the pandemic, when traditional routes were simply not an option.

“The success of our recruitment campaigns over the last few years has been a real team effort and is down to the hard work of everyone across the force who all have a role to play in supporting our new recruits and transferees.

“We’re continuing to recruit throughout 2023 with vacancies on our PCDA and DHEP programmes as well as for transferees and a number of police staff roles available in our Force Control Room.

York Press: Home Office figures show 251 officers were recruited in the regionHome Office figures show 251 officers were recruited in the region (Image: Newsquest)

“North Yorkshire is a fantastic place to live and work and also a place where everyone is truly welcome.”

Nationally, a total of 20,951 extra recruits joined police forces in the past three years, in the wake of a Conservative election manifesto commitment to have 20,000 additional officers in post by March 2023.

The figures show a record number of female police officers across the country, with more than 53,000 at the end of March.

Similarly, there were about 12,000 police officers from an ethnic minority background – more than ever before.

In the region, there were 642 female officers and 45 officers identifying as an ethnic minority.

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner, Zoe Metcalfe, said: “I’m so pleased that North Yorkshire Police has exceeded its uplift target set by the Home Office and that the efforts put into recruitment campaigns and partnership working is proving successful.

“I know that police visibility and presence in communities is important to the public and so to be able to say that the force has the largest number of officers they have had in a decade makes me incredibly proud."