Tories are on the verge of breaking their election promise to recruit 20,000 new police officers by 2010 - amid warnings that a real-terms pay drop is putting off would-be coppers.
Latest Home Office figures reveal that a massive 3,427 officers still need to be recruited by the end of March in order to meet Boris Johnson's 2019 pledge.
It comes after years of Tory austerity which sent police numbers plummeting.
Last week a watchdog chief warned MPs that bringing in new officers was proving difficult, with coppers having suffered a 20% real-terms pay reduction since 2010, when the Tories came to power.
Data from the Home Office shows 16,753 police have joined under the Police Uplift Programme - 16% short of the promised number.
But it says it is "well on its way" to meeting the target by March 31.
In order to do this, the government will need to recruit 1,142 officers per month - having averaged 494 over the past six months.
But this could prove tricky. Last week Andy Cooke, Chief Inspector of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue, told MPs that bringing officer numbers back to 2010 levels was "an issue".
He told the Home Affairs Committee: "Now trying to get back to these police officer numbers is an issue.
"I'd add on top of that that police officers in real terms have basically had a 20% pay cut in 2010 compared to what they earn now.
"So policing isn't a vastly attractive proposition, particularly in areas where there's a high cost of living."
A House of Commons Library research paper published last month states that in 2010 there were 172,000 police officers across the UK, including Scotland and Northern Ireland.
This steadily dipped over the next decade, reaching 150,000 in 2017 before slowly starting to rise. By last year there were 164,000.
Today Yvette Cooper MP, Labour’s Shadow Home Secretary, said:"The Conservatives are totally failing to keep communities safe. It shows how badly they have managed policing over the last 13 years that more officers are leaving than joining and they are on course to miss their police recruitment target.
"On their watch, police numbers have been slashed, experienced officers have been lost, neighbourhoods feel less safe and communities have been put at risk.
"The next Labour government will rebuild neighbourhood policing with 13,000 new officers and PCSOs to cut crime at source and protect communities."
Lib Dem Home Affairs spokesperson Alistair Carmichael MP said: "The Conservatives are too busy dealing with sleaze and scandal to properly tackle crime festering in our communities. They are letting down people across the country with their failure to recruit police officers and tackle crime.
“Victims right across the country will be left without confidence in this Government and it's all because of these broken promises and failures."
But the Home Office maintains it is "well on the way" to meeting the target.
Home Secretary Suella Braverman said: “Improving confidence in our police forces means we must attract the brightest and the best to one of the toughest but most rewarding jobs in our country. I am delighted we are on track to deliver our bold promise to the British people of putting 20,000 additional officers on the streets.
“This next generation of brave police officers will add to efforts to drive down invasive crimes like burglary and neighbourhood offences, return to common sense policing and make our communities feel safer and stronger.”
