Community Policing
Neighbourhood Policing
Every household in England and Wales now has access to a dedicated Neighbourhood Policing Team who provide communities with a visible, accessible and - most importantly - accountable presence.
Latest News
Safer School Partnerships
Safer School Partnerships (SSPs) are a formal agreement between schools and police to work together in order to keep young people safe, reduce crime and improve behaviour. They involve a police officer or PCSO working full or part time at a school or across a cluster of schools, with pupils and staff.
New guidance about SSPs was launched on 11 May 2009, produced by the Home Office, DCSF, ACPO and the YJB. The guidance provides advice on what constitutes a SSP, the benefits of SSPs, how to set one up and how it can best be maintained. The document, and accompanying DVD is aimed at head teachers, school staff and governors, police officers, local authorities, children's services and other professionally involved in keeping children and young people safe. It offers practical advice, with case studies of good practice. The document, and DVD are available on the Teachernet website (new window).
What is neighbourhood policing?
Neighbourhood policing is a key - and permanent - element of reforms to make the police service more citizen focused. We are building a more responsive, locally accountable and citizen-focused police service through a programme to transform policing at a local level to meet the needs of communities.
Background
In the White Paper - Building Communities, Beating Crime (Nov 2004) the government set out its commitment to ensure that every area in England and Wales would benefit from neighbourhood policing.
It's important that neighbourhood policing is locally led. Engaging effectively with local people, and involving them in agreeing and tackling local policing priorities are vital elements of the national neighbourhood policing programme.
Led by police officers, the neighbourhood policing teams include police community support officers (PCSOs), often together with special constables, local authority wardens, volunteers and partners.
There are now more than 13,000 police constables and sergeants dedicated to neighbourhood policing. In addition over 16,000 PCSOs have been added to the extended policing family.
Funding
The government is committed to sustaining the investment in neighbourhood policing, including PCSOs, beyond 2008. In due course, it will put the funding into the general policing grant so that the resources will continue to be available in the long term.
The Home Secretary announced that the neighbourhood policing fund (NPF) for 2008-09 for neighbourhood policing, including PCSOs, will be £324m. This is 2.7% higher than in 2007-08. The settlement demonstrates a continuing commitment to neighbourhood policing.
Role and powers of the police community support officer (PCSOs)
PCSOs play an important part in the delivery of neighbourhood policing. Their primary role is to provide high visibility reassurance policing dealing with low level crime and anti social behaviour. Their presence on the streets makes residents feel safer and they are an important part of the police team. PCSOs are best seen as a complement to, not a replacement for, the role of sworn police officers.
We carried out a consultation exercise on a standard set of powers for PCSOs and this was introduced in December 2007. Chief officers may designate tasks over and above the standard list to individual PCSOs, but these will always focus on raising community confidence.
Information on PCSO powers and their role in policing can be viewed on the police community support officers page.
On 23 November the Home Secretary, in conjunction with the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO), announced that the ACPO cabinet have commissioned a project on PCSOs. Led by the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA), the project aims to build on existing good practice and agree greater standardisation, thus clarifying the role of PCSOs further and helping to embed them in neighbourhood policing.
Information on how to become a PCSO
Further information on neighbourhood policing, including how to contact your local force and how to become a PCSO can be found on the National Policing Improvement Agency (NPIA) website. (new window)
What the public can expect to see from local neighbourhood policing team
Neighbourhood policing teams are involved in proactive or preventative work to tackle low level crime and anti social behaviour that may be a persistent issue or concern in the local community.
- communities can now expect to see increased numbers of PCSOs patrolling their streets, addressing anti-social behaviour issues and building relationships with local people
- communities should also have information about how their local force will be policing the local community, and have a point of contact for their neighbourhood team
- local people will have the opportunity to tell the police about the issues which are causing them concern and help shape the response to those issues.
Find your neighbourhood policing team
Every neighbourhood is different - and so are the problems that matter to residents. Neighbourhood policing teams work with members of the community to address local crime, including anti-social behaviour, and any ongoing issues or concerns.
To find your neighbourhood policing team, visit the Directgov website (new window).
