THE number of younger police officers on duty in Notts has more than halved in the past three years, it has been revealed.
Figures released by the Home Office show the number of officers under 26 employed by Notts Police was 143 in 2009-10.
It fell to 55 officers in 2011-12 – a drop of 62 per cent. There were 89 in 2010-11.
Budget cuts and a freeze on recruitment have been blamed for the decline.
Notts Police and Crime Commissioner Paddy Tipping said: "They are pretty depressing figures that reflect the fact that there has been no recruitment. It does mean we are getting an unbalanced workforce."
Mr Tipping said that Notts Police "are struggling".
"It's an efficient police force, crime is coming down pretty quick but I'm very well aware of the strains that police officers are under."
He added: "There have been cuts in police numbers for some time now but these are too deep, too quick.
"We need to get more officers recruited and out on the streets."
The Post reported last week that 100 new police officers could be recruited in Notts within a year.
Mr Tipping pledged a total of 150 new officers over four years before being elected into the role in November.
He is due to announce when the first officers will arrive after finalising his first budget for Notts Police later this month.
Sergeant Phil Matthews, chairman of Notts Police Federation, said: "Because we have lost so many [officers] everywhere is having to be restructured.
"The frontline shifts have seen a massive decline in numbers.
"In the city centre, they used to parade on 20 officers on a night shift and now they'll only parade on six or seven.
"Basically, officers are being stretched further.
"Frontline policing is affected on a daily basis.
"I know the force is doing everything it can but it has been placed in an impossible position by the level of cuts."
The Home Office figures on officers' ages were released after a Freedom of Information request.
A Notts police spokesman said: "These figures reflect the impact of a recent recruitment freeze which had been imposed due to the well-documented budget constraints faced by the force."
Nationally, there were 9,088 officers aged under 26 in 2009-10. This fell to 4,758 officer in 2011-12 – a decrease of 48 per cent.
The highest fall was in forces covering Cleveland, North Wales and Staffordshire, where the number of officers aged under 26 has dropped by than 70 per cent.
