Every community will have a named, contactable police officer to deal with local issues, as part of a £100m neighbourhood policing guarantee.
In a Plan for Change to be announced today, the Prime Minister will tell communities that they can expect to have a visible and responsive policing presence that will reconnect with the communities they serve.
He’ll pay for it by ending what he calls the ‘madness’ of 43 police forces making separate contracts for uniforms and cars. He’ll say: “The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will deliver 13,000 extra neighbourhood police, visible on your streets, cracking down on anti-social behaviour. A named, contactable officer in every community. A relief to millions of people scared to walk their streets they call home.
“But it’s a pledge that is only possible because we are matching investment with reform; standardising procurement, streamlining specialist services like forensics, and ending the madness of 43 forces purchasing their own cars and uniforms.”
Confidence in policing is said to have declined in recent years and community policing has been diminished, with neighbourhood officers pulled off the beat to plug shortages elsewhere, weakening connections with communities. Since 2010, the proportion of people who see a police foot patrol more than once per week has more than halved, and the number of Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) has halved.
The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee sets out what communities should expect from their neighbourhood policing team. Every neighbourhood will have a named, contactable officer, and residents and businesses will be given a voice to shape their local police priorities. In addition, every force will have a dedicated anti-social behaviour lead who will work with their communities to develop action plans that tackle the concerns seen on their streets every day.
To support this, the milestone over this Parliament is to have 13,000 additional neighbourhood policing officers, PCSOs and special constables in dedicated neighbourhood policing roles. These officers must demonstrably spend time on visible patrol and not be taken off the beat to plug shortages elsewhere.
The government is boosting the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee with £100 million, which will place a renewed focus on preventing the criminality plaguing the streets – particularly in town centres – with visible, accessible officers that will deter offending and reassure locals they will be kept safe.
As part of the drive to raise standards and improve accountability, the Safer Streets Mission includes a programme of police reform. This is important to deliver on the ambition to halve violence against women and girls and knife crime, as well as drive up confidence in the police, which has diminished in recent years.
