The PSNI has launched a recruitment drive to lift officer numbers from an historic low.
Chief Constable Jon Boutcher wants 7,000 officers, he currently has 6,300.
Mr Boutcher said the plan would require an extra £200 million in funding from Stormont, which will need Executive approval.
The recruitment drive is the first since 2021.
A moratorium on recruitment was part of a cost-cutting measure as the PSNI struggled with reducing budgets and rising costs.
New officers will be offered a salary of £34,000 from day one of training. That includes a £4,000 allowance commonly known as "danger money".
The PSNI has been haemorrhaging officers in recent years with complaints about workload and stress.
The 'New Decade New Approach' agreement in 2020 gave political backing to a service of 7,500 officers as envisaged under policing reforms in the late 1990s.
