Police Scotland is holding community information events in Dumfries and Galloway to find new recruits ready to help keep the local community safe.

It’s part of a recruitment drive in the area and Police Scotland is encouraging local people who might be thinking of joining the police, or planning a career change, to come along and find out more.

Figures last year showed that the number of full-time equivalent officers in Police Scotland fell by 312 during the first three months of 2022, reaching the lowest level since 2008.

The decline represented 1.8% of the force’s overall strength, meaning it had 16,805 full-time equivalent police officers as of March 31 2022.

A Freedom of Information request from the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party show that there were only 423 special constables available to Police Scotland as of September last year.

That was a drop of almost 1,000 on the 1,394 who were volunteering across Scotland in 2014.

The response shows how numbers have continued to fall since 2019/20.

In Ayrshire, there were there were 29 special constables in 2019/20. By September 2022, there were just 21.

Join Police Scotland at the Dumfries and Galloway Police Headquarters on Tuesday, 21 March 2023.

Potential applicants will hear from serving police officers about what a career in policing can offer, get helpful hints and tips on the application process, and have their questions answered by the recruitment team.

Applicants must have a good level of fitness and be at least 17.5 years old when they apply.