New plans to put 'bobbies on the beat'

The prime minister has announced plans to put police officers back in neighbourhoods, as part of a manifesto pledge to roll out the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.

The new measures will ensure that every community will have dedicated and specialist neighbourhood policing teams.

The number of people who regularly see officers patrolling in their local area has halved in the last decade and last year, there were one million incidents of antisocial behaviour.

The measures plan to put prevention at the heart of policing, with the hope that crimes like vandalism or antisocial behaviour will be less likely to turn into more serious and violent offences.

The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee pledges to put 13,000 more officers into neighbourhood policing roles by 2029, an increase of more than 50 per cent.

Initially, the plan will establish named local officers, target town centre crime and build back neighbourhood policing.

Every neighbourhood in England and Wales will have dedicated teams who will spend their time on the beat with guaranteed police patrols in town centres and other hotspot areas at peak times such as Friday and Saturday nights.  

There will also be dedicated antisocial behaviour lead in every force, working with residents and businesses to develop tailored action plans to tackle record levels of antisocial behaviour.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: "Everyone deserves to feel safe and secure on the streets they call home. It is just about the most basic right that anyone would expect. Yet for years crimes such as shoplifting and antisocial behaviour have wreaked havoc on our neighbourhoods. Policing has become reactive, picking up the pieces after crimes have occurred.

"Britain deserves better. It should not matter where you live – everyone deserves local, visible policing they can trust, and with our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee we will end this postcode lottery, putting prevention back at the heart of policing and ensuring police are back on the streets.

"That’s why our Plan for Change is delivering security for working people in their communities with a return to neighbourhood policing, putting thousands of bobbies back on the beat and keeping people safe.

Home secretary Yvette Cooper said: "The heartbeat of our Great British policing tradition is seeing bobbies on the beat, but for too long, too many communities have been feeling abandoned as crime soared and neighbourhood police disappeared, even when local crimes like shop theft, street theft or blatant drug dealing rose sharply.

"That’s why this government is determined to get police back on the beat and into our town centres.

"It should not matter where you live – everyone deserves local, visible policing they can trust, and with our Plan for Change and Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee we will tackle this postcode lottery and restore policing to our communities."