Police numbers reach record high
The number of police officers in England and Wales has reached a record level according to Home Office figures.
News that there were 133,386 police officers at the end of August will come as a major boost to home secretary David Blunkett, who addresses the Labour Party conference in Bournemouth later today.
The Home Office also revealed that the number of community support officers (CSOs) has reached 1,601.
In his conference address, Mr Blunkett is expected to highlight the fact that the government has now exceeded its own target for recruiting more police.
“Police numbers are at an all time high … way ahead of our 2004 target,” he said.
Mr Blunkett is also expected to announce that more than £20 million seized from criminals has been earmarked for community projects.
