POLICE can't pay officers any more money, but they can decorate their staff rooms and hope they stay in the job.

The heads of Thames Valley Police said the 'huge' number of officers who are handing in their resignations and moving somewhere 'cheaper' has been a 'concern'.

Police and crime commissioner Anthony Stansfeld told the police and crime panel on Thursday that they are working at retaining 'good quality' officers by making 'small improvements' to their offices.

The panel is made up of 18 councillors from across Thames Valley who work to scrutinise the decisions made by the PCC – who have a say over how TVP spend cash.

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Mr Stansfeld said: "Luckily we are considered a good police force to work for but inevitably officers will want a nicer house and somewhere cheaper to live so they move to Devon and get paid the same.

"We have seen a huge turnover over the last two or three years. We can't up people's pay and we can't lower the price of housing in the area so it's been a concern."

TVP are expected to get around 600 new offices as part of Boris Johnson's pledge to roll out 20,000 new police roles in the UK.

Matthew Barber, the deputy PCC, added: "The uplift comes at quite a good time for Thames Valley. There is a new careers website has been launched – a lot of work has been put into that.

"In Abingdon we have expanded the rest room. It sounds like really small things but we can't afford to pay anymore and increase salaries or compete with other police forces that will pay more so that is a challenge but we are working with the federation to improve offices."