Hucknall MP joins fellow Nottinghamshire MPs to mark county's successful police recruitment drive

Police and Crime Commissioner Caroline Henry (Con) and chief constable Craig Guildford welcomed Mr Spencer, along with Ben Bradley (Con, Mansfield), Brendan Clarke-Smith (Con, Bassetlaw), Ruth Edwards (Con, Rushcliffe), Lilian Greenwood (Lab, Nottingham South), Darren Henry (Con, Broxtowe), Tom Randall (Con, Gedling) and Nadia Whittome (Lab, Nottingham East) to the site on April 22.

During a tour of the force’s new training school, control room and joint office complex – shared with Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service – the MPs observed officers in training and met some of the new recruits who have helped the force hit its Uplift target early.

Following the tour, they watched 19 new recruits formally become police constables in a special passing out ceremony, having completed a 20-week training programme.

It was the third passing out event to take place this year at Nottinghamshire Police, with officer numbers at the force now at their highest levels since 2011.

The force reached 2,380 officers by March 2022 – meaning it met its Uplift target a year ahead of schedule.

In doing so, the force has now become one of the most representative in the country – with a more diverse group of officers more accurately reflecting the communities they serve.

The MPs also spoke to Commissioner Henry about the newly-launched Make Notts Safe Plan, which sets out the commissioner’s vision for policing in the county over the next four years.

Chief Constable Guildford said: “I was delighted to welcome local MPs to the site and to demonstrate how we’re in the middle of a revolution in local policing.

“I was also pleased they could join proud families at the passing out parade as we welcomed another 19 new police officers into our ranks.

“We’ve got another exciting recruitment programme coming up this year and I’d urge anyone interested in a career in policing to keep an eye on our recruitment opportunities as there are plenty coming up.”

Mrs Henry added: “I’m delighted that we’ve cracked on and achieved our Uplift target a year early.

“I'm always looking to deliver to ‘Make Notts Safe’.

"This is why I am after more funding for even more officers to make our streets safer, pushing central Government for 50 extra officers for our force to help police areas of emerging demand across the city and county.

“It was great to welcome our MPs to our joint headquarters and am pleased our MPs have agreed to help me lobby for these extra officers."

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