The West Midlands saw the biggest increase outside London.

The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner Simon Foster has welcomed the latest Home Office figures which reveal there are hundreds more bobbies on the beat.

The figures show 338 officers or police community support officers (PCSOs) have been hired or redeployed by West Midlands Police in the last year, the biggest rise outside London.

This is part of the Government's plan to tackle crime in local communities and roll out an additional 13,000 neighbourhood officers nationwide by the end of the current Parliament.

Murders and serious violent crimes fell to their lowest level in more than a decade last year, and across December and January the Home Office’s Winter of Action scheme saw 18,000 arrests in 600 towns and cities.

The West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner, Simon Foster said: "Rebuilding community policing is a top priority for me and our Labour government. I welcome the additional 338 neighbourhood officers in the West Midlands.

"We need an accessible, reassuring and visible police presence out on the streets, to prevent and tackle crime and ASB [anti-social behaviour] and to keep people, families, businesses and local communities safe and secure.

"I will continue to work with our Labour Government to deliver on that commitment for the people and communities of the West Midlands."

All police forces in England and Wales now have a designated anti-social behaviour lead and publish a bespoke Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan.

A new National Police Service has been created to focus on nationwide and cross-border crime, regional forces to carry out complex investigations such as homicide, rape and county lines, and introduce Local Policing Areas in cities, towns and boroughs.

Crime and Policing Minister Sarah Jones said: “Neighbourhood policing was hollowed out under the previous Government. Communities were left to face an epidemic of everyday crime that all too often seemed to go unpunished.

“To make matters worse, too many officers have been stuck behind desks in support roles when we need them out on our streets.

“We’re delivering the biggest reforms to policing in over 200 years and, crucially, putting 13,000 more neighbourhood officers where they belong – on the beat and fighting crime in our communities.

“The Government will halve knife crime within a decade, saving lives and protecting communities.”