THERE are 804 fewer police officers across the region than there were at the time of the last General Election, new figures reveal.

The Home Office figures show that since the Coalition Government came into power in 2010, the North-East has lost 712 officers while there are 92 fewer in North Yorkshire.

Labour have slammed the reductions, which have seen a fall of 234 officers in Cleveland, 142 in County Durham and 33 in Northumbria. Nationally there are 11,499 fewer officers than there were in March 2010.

Yvette Cooper MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary said the reductions caused by cuts in Government spending are taking police numbers back a decade.

She said: “These huge cuts to policing are making it harder for the police to catch criminals and deliver justice.

“There are fewer front-line officers, fewer officers responding to 999 calls and the police are less visible and available under this Government.

“The Tory-led Government needs to urgently rethink next year's police budget cuts and stop letting communities down."

As of September last year there were 6,707 police officers in the North East and 1,394 in North Yorkshire compared to 7,419 and 1,486 in 2010.

Damian Green, Minister for Policing and Criminal Justice, said: "Our police reforms are working, crime is down 10 per cent under this government and public confidence is up.

"We set the police a challenge — to cut crime while playing their part in reducing the country's record deficit.

"Thanks to the efforts of officers, the leadership of chief constables and our radical reform of policing that challenge is being met.”