NORTH Yorkshire Police says it is "well on track" to meet its targets as part of the Government’s major recruitment drive.

Police ranks across England and Wales have been bolstered with an additional 3,005 officers since the Government launched the recruitment campaign, according to figures released by the Home Office on Thursday.

In North Yorkshire, the statistics show that North Yorkshire Police has successfully accelerated their recruitment plans with 28 additional officers recruited towards the force’s target of 58 by March 2021, and the remaining 30 officers due to join the force in June this year.

An additional 52 officers were also recruited between November 2019 and March this year as part of the force’s planned recruitment activity and the local precept uplift.

There are now 1,519 officers in North Yorkshire Police, an 8.5 per cent increase on March 2019 – of which uplift officers account for approximately 24 per cent.

The figures follow the launch of the Government’s campaign in September 2019 to recruit 20,000 extra officers over the next three years.

Commenting on the figures, chief constable Lisa Winward of North Yorkshire Police, said: "These figures are extremely encouraging and show that North Yorkshire Police is well on its way to meeting our target of 58 additional officers as part of the Government’s campaign by March next year.

"Policing is a challenging, exciting and rewarding career and I’d like to thank each and every one of our new officers who chose the North Yorkshire Police family to begin their policing career, to help make a difference and keep our communities safe.

"For many, their first role has been to join the fight to stop the spread of coronavirus, which none of us could have anticipated when they signed up. Despite this, every officer, staff member and volunteer has continued to deliver an excellent service, which is nothing short of inspirational.

"As we look to the months ahead, we are continuing to innovate with our recruitment activity including holding virtual interviews, virtual assessments, and online assessment centres through the College of Policing, to ensure that we keep on track of our plans.

"My thanks once again to every person at North Yorkshire Police who is helping to make a difference, especially during these challenging and unprecedented times."