The Home Office has released details of how the first tranche of new police officers will be allocated to forces in England and Wales and Greater Manchester is set to receive 347.
Priti Patel made the announcement following the second meeting of the National Policing Board which took place yesterday.
The breakdown provides the number of officers each force will increase by in the year 2020-21 totalling 6,000.
Greater Manchester Chief Constable tweeted
Will get an additional 347 officers as part of the first 6000 officers allocated Nationally. A positive step in the right direction and very welcome after losing 2000 officers since 2011”
John Apter, National Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales who attended the meeting said: “Investment in policing is long overdue and for the first time we now have the actual number of officers each local force will increase by in the next year.
“These figures have been based on the current funding formula models and while this method is not perfect, it is the only solution available to deliver the numbers quickly in year one – but there will be winners and losers.
“We now need to ensure that the formula is revisited for future years to ensure a fairer allocation of officers across all forces, but this is certainly a positive start and will provide a much-needed boost to my members and the communities they serve.”
Home Secretary Priti Patel said: “The public are clear they want to see more police officers on their streets, whether they live in the city or the countryside. This is the people’s priority and it is exactly what the Government is delivering.
“Every single police force in England and Wales will be able to recruit additional officers this year to help keep all of our communities safer.”
