EVEN when Thames Valley Police hire 183 new police officers, it will still have less officers than it did in 2010 say the police federation.

The new officers are being hired as part of the government's plan to employ 20,000 in the next three years. But despite the boost, the federation head Craig O'Leary, says it will only replace those jobs that have been cut.

He said: "The public also need to be aware that this is just replacing officers that our force had cut by this Government in the last nine years."

He told the Oxford Mail: “It’s really welcomed, and it is something that my colleagues on the frontline will welcome.

“They have been working under severe pressure over the last eight or nine years and we are mindful that it is not covering the number of officers we have lost but it is a good start.

“Whilst we welcome it we have lost the best part of 1,000 officers.

"It is a shame that we have to go through the pain over the last years before the government realised that it is a too low.

"We have officers that have been burdened with pretty large workloads and if you are constantly loaded with work, of course they are going to be suffering, some even burnout and it can't be good for any organisation.

"But new officers will work to alleviate the pressures."

TVP will hire 183 more officers, bringing the total count to 4,388 – similar to the number employed in 2015.