Julia Lopez MP has welcomed the announcement that 2,599 police officers have been recruited in Metropolitan Police since September 2019, bringing the total number of officers up to 34,542.

The latest figures are part of the Conservative Government’s drive to get 20,000 more police officers on the street by March 2023, and puts the Government on track to fulfil its manifesto commitment with 68 per cent of the target now met.

Across the 43 police forces, an additional 13,576 officers have been recruited, bringing the total number of police officers in England and Wales to 142,526 – where they are already having an impact in tackling crime and keeping communities safe.

The latest figures also show that the police are more representative of the communities they serve. More than four in ten new recruits since April 2020 are female and nearly 12 per cent of new recruits identify as belonging to a Black, Asian, Mixed or other minority ethnic group.

However, the figures show Labour Mayor’s Sadiq Khan and Andy Burnham, who run the Met and Greater Manchester Police forces, the largest and third largest forces in the country, failed to meet their targets for recruiting additional officers. Sadiq Khan fell 133 officers short of his target and Andy Burnham fell 30 short of his.

The 13,576 extra officers will support the Conservative Government’s crackdown on crime, which has seen the launch of the Beating Crime Plan and the passing of the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill through the House of Commons.

This builds on the action already taken by the Conservative Government since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister two years ago – including boosting police funding to a record £15.8 billion and delivering £70million through the Safer Streets Fund to make neighbourhoods secure.