TWELVE more officers have been recruited by Police Now for the Avon and Somerset Constabulary, taking the total to more than 100 in the past eight years.

Police Now aims to bring difference and diversity to policing, to better represent the public the force serves and to drive innovation across the sector.

Its national graduate programme allows officers to specialise in a number of areas, including neighbourhood policing.

Of the new recruits, 18 per cent come from an ethnic minority background, more than twice the average across England and Wales of 8.5 per cent, and 64 per cent are women, again significantly higher than the national 36.1 per cent average.

One new recruit, Olivia Hill, said: “Police Now has been incredibly inclusive and supportive throughout.”