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.
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.
Current position
In April 2008, the next phase of work began to ensure neighbourhood policing is embedded into core policing activity, and that effective partnerships are developed with other community safety agencies to tackle local priorities.
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.
The review of policing by Sir Ronnie Flanagan
The Independent Review of Policing by Sir Ronnie Flanagan - Interim Report made 13 recommendations for neighbourhood policing. The Home Secretary wrote to Sir Ronnie on 29 November setting out what the Home Secretary and ministerial colleagues were doing to take forward his recommendations on neighbourhood policing.
The Independent Review of Policing by Sir Ronnie Flanagan - Final Report was published on 7 February 2008. This report includes key recommendations on how the police service can better manage the risks in order to reduce the threat to the public and reduce the harm caused by crime.
Useful links
National Policing Improvement Agency
Since April 2007, the National Policing Improvement Agency (new window) has become responsible for operational delivery of policing policy. For more information please visit our NPIA page.
Neighbourhood policing programme team
The NPIA neighbourhood policing programme team provides support and advice on neighbourhood policing issues to the 43 forces across England and Wales.
