Greater Government focus and investment in neighbourhood policing has been welcomed by Cleveland PCC Matt Storey.
As part of The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, the Prime Minister has said every community will have a named, contactable police officer. The guarantee has the following five key priorities:
Five Key Priorities
- Putting Police back on the beat with a Neighbourhood Policing Team (NPT) in every area, making intelligence-led, visible patrols
- Community-led with a named, contactable officer for every neighbourhood. Residents and businesses will also have a say on policing priorities in their area.
- Professional excellence with new standards to make sure NPTs are trained to be proactive problem-solvers.
- Crackdown on antisocial behaviour. Neighbourhood policing teams will be equipped with tougher tools such as the new Respect Order. There will also be a dedicated lead officer in every force working to develop an ASB action plan.
- Making town centres safer with a crackdown on shop theft, street theft and assaults against retail workers
Cleveland PCC Matt Storey is joint lead for local policing at the Association of Police and Crime Commissioners (APCC.)
£100m funding
In a joint statement with Gloucestershire PCC Chris Nelson, he said: “We welcome the Government’s commitment to restoring neighbourhood patrols and a guarantee of what people can expect from their neighbourhood policing teams.
“The pledge of a £100 million funding injection demonstrates that the Government understands the value the public places on having more visible local policing in their area.
“PCCs know how important neighbourhood policing is to our communities. Residents want to see officers on their streets preventing and robustly tackling the antisocial behaviour, street theft and shoplifting that so devastate areas and make people feel unsafe.
“The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee Framework includes the promise of a dedicated named officer for every neighbourhood. They will understand local issues and be trained to pro-actively help resolve problems before crimes are committed.
“On behalf of our communities, PCCs will hold our local forces to account on delivery of this pledge. We will make sure the quality of officers’ interactions with the communities and victims they serve are effective and the impact is measurable.”
During this Parliament, an additional 13,000 neighbourhood policing officers, Police Community Support Officers and special constables are earmarked for dedicated neighbourhood policing roles.