Wiltshire Police is set to have spent almost £40,000 more on social media marketing this financial year, a new freedom of information request has revealed.

The data found that before 2020, Wiltshire Police did not pay for any advertising on social media.

But in the 2021/22 financial year, the force spent just over £700 on adverts, which increased to £2000 last year, and then has risen again to over £9,000 this year.

In total, Wiltshire Police are set to have spent over £56,000 on social media marketing this financial year, which is a 200 per cent increase from last year.

Explaining the huge jump in budget, a spokesperson for Wiltshire Police said: "The increase in paid advertising on social media is linked, almost exclusively, to the national Police Uplift programme – where each force was required to recruit a certain number of police officers.

"Of the £9,212 spent on social media advertising in 2023/24, more than £8,600 of this was directly related to the police officer recruitment campaign.

"This spend translates directly to more officers out in our communities.

"More broadly, engaging and communicating with the public remains central to our policing approach, so it is right and proper than we invest in doing this on channels we now have the biggest reach into our communities."

But while social media marketing helps police, some have questioned if advertising is the best use of police funds.

“It's a lot of money," said Jo Davies, founder of social media marketing company FatJo.com.

"While the increase in spending by Wiltshire Police is indicative of the continuing shift to digital platforms, it’s essential they ensure their spending is efficient."