Over 3,000 additional police officers and police community support officers (PCSOs) have been put into neighbourhood roles in less than a year, as new figures reveal the Government has hit this target two months ahead of schedule.
With murders and serious violent crimes at their lowest level for more than a decade, communities have nevertheless continued to be blighted by shop and mobile phone theft and drug offences.
Figures released this week show 3,123 additional neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs have been hired or redeployed since April last year, now focused on fighting local crimes in communities.
The Home Office’s Winter of Action scheme across December and January saw almost 18,000 arrests across more than 600 towns and cities as police presence and patrols were ramped up.
Of these, over 5,000 were for retail crime, almost 1,000 for street crime, and over 10,000 - more than half - were for violent assault.
Crime and policing minister, Sarah Jones (left), said: “Neighbourhood policing was hollowed out under the previous government. Communities were left to face an epidemic of everyday crime that all too often seemed to go unpunished.
“Too many officers have been stuck behind desks in support roles when we need them out on our streets.”
“To make matters worse, too many officers have been stuck behind desks in support roles when we need them out on our streets.
“We’re delivering the biggest reforms to policing in over 200 years and, crucially, putting 13,000 more neighbourhood officers where they belong - on the beat and fighting crime in our communities. The government will halve knife crime within a decade, saving lives and protecting communities.”
Significant successes have been seen across some of the busiest individual forces in country, including in South Wales, where a 37% reduction in home burglaries and a 14% reduction in anti-social behaviour was reported.
Greater Manchester Police made more than 1,300 arrests, and more than 400 were for anti-social behaviour, 272 for retail crime, and 170 for serious violent crime.
Finally, in Merseyside, police made 1,045 arrests, with retail crime arrests up 26% on the previous two months before the campaign, while street crime arrests increased by 71%.
The Government continued by saying its early delivery of additional neighbourhood officers marks a major milestone in meeting its Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, which will ultimately see 13,000 additional neighbourhood personnel by the end of this parliament - an increase of more than 75%.
All police forces have now also published bespoke antisocial behaviour action plans - another key commitment of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee – setting out how they intend to continue tackling antisocial behaviour (ASB) in their communities. The plans were published by each force’s designated antisocial behaviour lead, roles that were established last year as part of the guarantee.
John Hayward-Cripps, CEO of Neighbourhood Watch Network, said: “The increase is welcome and essential, and the quality of relationships built with communities will embed confidence. That’s where the benefit of working with people and community organisations is realised.”
Association of Convenience Stores chief executive, Ed Woodall (right), concluded: ”We strongly welcome the Government’s commitment to increasing police presence in communities, which has led to a majority of retailers reporting better relationships with their local police forces.
“We now need to capitalise on this momentum so that more repeat shop thieves are brought to justice and taken out of the cycle of reoffending.”
“We now need to capitalise on this momentum so that more repeat shop thieves are brought to justice and taken out of the cycle of reoffending. Local shops remain committed to working with the police to make this happen.”
The Government will also launch its plan to halve knife crime within a decade this week. Titled Protecting Lives, Building Hope, it will save lives, transform the futures of young people and protect communities across the country.
No comments yet