Communities across Hampshire and Isle of Wight will have named dedicated police officers and PCSOs by next year

Donna Jones, the police and crime commissioner for Hampshire and Isle of Wight, has announced the move she believes will forge a stronger relationship between the force and its communities. The first of these is set to come in by April 2024.

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Ms Jones said: ‘I have spent the last 18 months as your police commissioner listening, learning and talking to thousands of people. I was convinced very quickly that bringing back local named police officers to serve you and your communities was the right thing to do.

‘Since then, I’ve been working on finding the money to pay for more police officers and been successful in doing that. By the end of next month 600 extra police officers will have already been recruited - 100 more than our national target. And two weeks ago I announced another 50 new officers on top of that to be recruited over the next year. Next year I hope to do the same.

‘Now is the time to again make clear I am committed to giving the public what they want and need; a stronger relationship with their local police force and to feel safe in their communities.’

Both PCSOs and police officers work across local neighbourhood policing teams. Ms Jones added: ‘Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary already has a number of dedicated individuals in communities and ensuring the public know who they are and how to get hold of them will be a priority.’