The timeframe for the 500 officer increase in policing numbers is shrinking.  

Police News magazine reports there are actually fewer cops in the country than when the target was set 14 months ago. 

Associate Police Minister Casey Costello says they've lost 150 through attrition, but they're expecting to put 650 recruits through in the first half of the year.  

She told Mike Hosking it won't just be new recruits who help bolster the numbers.  

Costello says more than 100 former officers have applied to rejoin the force. 

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