Government has not yet set out what impact the Programme will have on forces’ ability to tackle crime, the public’s trust in policing or the wider Criminal Justice System. The success of the Programme to date is in part due to its tight focus on recruiting 20,000 additional officers. But the public, whose taxes will ultimately fund the £18.5 billion cost of the officers over the next 10 years, will expect to see the promised reductions in crime and improved public safety. The Department estimates that the new officers will help prevent around 505,000 crimes from 2024–25. But an additional 729,000 cases could also enter the criminal justice system as a result of the new officers and result in more convictions. Maximising the impact of the new officers will depend on the resilience and effectiveness of the Criminal Justice System as a whole. The backlog of cases in criminal courts has already increased significantly due to the Covid-19 pandemic and is expected to remain high without significant change. The arrival of 20,000 additional officers will further increase pressure on criminal courts, which are already facing backlogs, as we have reported previously Recommendation: The Department should: • By April 2023, develop a framework to evaluate the medium to long-term impact of the Programme, so that it can demonstrate that the objectives to reduce crime and improve public confidence in policing have been achieved; and • In its Treasury Minute response, set out how it is working with partners in the Criminal Justice System to provide regular and ongoing analysis on the downstream impacts of the new officers to support better planning and demand management. 8 The Police Uplift Programme 1 Progress of the Police Uplift Programme