Government announces new measures to put neighbourhood police back on the beat
The Government says communities will be safer and trust in local policing will be restored under plans to put police officers back in our neighbourhoods, announced by the Prime Minister today
Last updated 9th Apr 2025
The Government says communities will be safer and trust in local policing will be restored under plans to put police officers back in our neighbourhoods, announced by the Prime Minister today, as he delivers manifesto pledge to roll out the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.
Sir Keir Starmer says new measures will ensure every community will have dedicated and specialist neighbourhood policing teams, ending the postcode lottery on law and order.
Announcing the plan, the Prime Minister will say that security is the bedrock on which working families build their lives, but that in recent years visible policing has fallen dramatically, with the number of people who regularly see officers patrolling in their local area halving in the past decade. 90% of crime has been left unsolved and there were one million incidents of antisocial behaviour last year alone, including big increases in street crime.
Labour claims the measures will put prevention at the heart of policing. Under the government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, crimes like vandalism or antisocial behaviour will be less likely to turn into more serious and violent offences, boosting confidence and security in local communities across Britain.
It also says the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will put 13,000 more officers into neighbourhood policing roles by 2029, an increase of more than 50%. The early focus of the plan will be to establish named local officers, target town centre crime and build back neighbourhood policing, meaning hard working people can feel safer and more secure in their daily lives.
The measures announced today include:
• Each neighbourhood will have named, contactable officers to tackle the issues facing their communities, helping to restore trust that policing is working to keep people safe and meaning no community feels ignored when they need help.
• 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 be a dedicated antisocial behaviour lead in every force, working with residents and businesses to develop tailored action plans to tackle record levels of antisocial behaviour, which is blighting communities.
The Government says under these plans, communities across the country will, for the first time in 15 years, be able to hold forces to account and expect a minimum standard of policing in their area.
The government’s new Police Standards and Performance Improvement Unit claims it will ensure police performance is consistently and accurately measured, so the government can narrow the gap between the best and worst performing forces.
There will also be a new online tool so the public are able to check how their local force is performing and hold forces to account.
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 in 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.”
Today’s announcement is just one part of the government’s commitment to keep communities safe.
Through the Crime and Policing Bill, new powers will be given to police so they can better tackle crimes that matter most to communities. This includes bringing in Respect Orders to clamp down on persistent antisocial behaviour and giving police the power to seize vehicles that cause havoc to communities. The Bill will also scrap the effective immunity of theft of goods below £200 and help police go after phone thieves by removing the warrant to search properties where stolen items have been electronically geolocated.