Police forces across the East of England have been told to recruit more than 450 new officers in a new drive to increase national policing numbers.
By the end of the 2020/21 financial year, constabularies across the east will be given targets to recruit hundreds of new officers.
Both Suffolk Constabulary and Essex Police will aim to increase their force by 4%, recruiting 54 and 135 officers respectively.
Norfolk Constabulary will be tasked to recruit 67 new officer, Hertfordshire Police, 91, Cambridgeshire Police, 62 and Bedfordshire Police, 54.
The recruitment drive is part of the government's plan to see a new wave of 6,000 officers in the UK by April 2021.
Home Secretary Priti Patel, MP for Witham,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.
"This means that people across the East of England will see up to 463 new officers keeping a watchful eye on their communities and helping to cut crime."
All officers recruited as part of the uplift will be additional to those hired to fill existing vacancies.
They are also on top of the extra officers already being recruited because of the £1 billion increase in police funding for 2019-20, which includes money from council tax and for serious violence.
John Apter, National chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales, said: "Yesterday's meeting was constructive and it is important that we, as the largest police staff association, were at the table to ensure our members were represented.
"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, I accept it is the only solution available to deliver the numbers quickly in year one.
"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."
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