THE Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead (RBWM) is planning to spend £240,000 to recruit an additional four police officers in hopes to reduce crime.

Cllr David Cannon (Con: Datchet, Horton & Wraysbury), lead member for public protection, said the council is entering into an agreement with Thames Valley Police (TVP) to fund the extra four police constables from April 2023.

These officers, who will be tasked jointly by the local authority and TVP, will be deployed as part of the RBWM neighbouring policing team and will help address anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping, etc. in both urban and rural areas.

The four officers will cost £240,000 and this initiative is the first time TVP have had police officer funded and tasked by a local authority, Cllr Cannon said on social media.

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This followed a public consultation on the upcoming budget, which saw 373 responses, where residents expressed that funds to help tackle crime and anti-social behaviour should be prioritised.

At a place overview and scrutiny meeting, TVP Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber said he is funding 80 additional officers to be deployed into communities across the Thames Valley, who should start by the end of this financial year.

Speaking on Tuesday, January 31, he said: “We are hoping to exceed our Home Office recruitment target by around 80 officers and without this additional investment we are putting into this [TVP] budget, the default position would have been that we simply return back down to our previous establishment.

“This builds those additional 80 into our establishment for the future. I think that’s a welcomed move.”

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He also said Thames Valley has more police officers than it “ever had before”.

Councillors also heard crime figures in Windsor and Maidenhead during a TVP annual presentation.

A total of 7,892 crimes were reported from April 2022, which represents a three per cent increase from the previous year.

The Royal Borough saw 858 incidents of vehicle crime, 761 of violence with injury, 1254 domestic abuse cases, 211 sexual offences, and 28 knife enabled crime.