A POLICE boss has praised a ‘first of its kind’ scheme in the Thames Valley that sees more police officers in Windsor and Maidenhead.

The Royal Borough announced it was funding four additional warranted officers from April 2023 to the tune of £240,000.

These officers, who will be tasked jointly by the local authority and Thames Valley Police, will be deployed as part of the council’s neighbouring policing team, and will help address anti-social behaviour, fly-tipping, and more in both urban and rural areas.

The Thames Valley’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Matthew Barber said this is a “welcomed investment” and boost to neighbourhood policing in Windsor and Maidenhead.

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He said: “It is wrong to suggest that as PCC I have the ability to levy “an unlimited precept”. A limit of £15 is in place on the increase in the policing element of the council tax without requiring a referendum, and I am ensuring that on top of dealing with the pressures of inflation this additional investment is going into more police officers and improvements to 101 and digital contact.

“This is the first arrangement of its kind in Thames Valley relating to police officers, although similar arrangements have been in place for many years regarding PCSOs and other forces have successfully used such arrangements for police officers.

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“Although in extreme circumstance police officers will naturally be expected to respond to pressing emergencies, the intention is that these officers will be focussed on local neighbourhood policing, providing resources over and above that which would otherwise have been possible and remaining under the control of the local area commander.”