MERSEYSIDE will have 500 more police officers by next March, but residents will need to pay more for them.

The government had told Merseyside Police to recruit 200 more officers this year as part of its promise to increase police numbers nationally.

But Merseyside Police and Crime Commissioner Jane Kennedy revealed on Friday that the force would recruit more than twice that number, bringing it closer to replenishing the officers it has lost since 2010.

However, the extra officers will come at the cost of an increase in council tax, approved on Friday, that will see most Merseyside residents pay another £6.67 per year.

Ms Kennedy told a meeting of the Merseyside Police and Crime Panel: “I understand that by asking the public for more money, they will quite rightly expect something in return, which is why I am promising a budget that will maximise the funding available.

“That will enable the chief constable to recruit the 200 officers and bring forward the anticipated recruitment of an additional 300 officers by March 2021.

“In one year, we hope to achieve 500 new officer recruits.”

The extra recruits will bring the total number of officers on Merseyside to just under 4,000.

Ms Kennedy, who is standing down in May, acknowledged this was “still a long way off” the 4,600 officers the force had in 2010, but said it was “the first stage of recovery”.

She added that she was confident she had the backing of residents for the tax rise, saying 83% of the 1,700 people her team surveyed were in favour of the proposal if it meant having more police officers.

After the meeting, Ms Kennedy told the LDRS: “People should see an increase in visibility of the police right across the region.

“It will also mean that their effectiveness will increase. They are already very good and recognised nationally as being one of the best forces in the country, but what the people of Merseyside will be able to know is that there will be more of them available to respond to them when they call for help.”