Government announces plans to put thousands more police officers on the streets

9 April 2025, 22:59 | Updated: 9 April 2025, 23:06

The Prime Minister has announced plans to deploy an additional 13,000 police officers to the streets.

This move is part of the government’s broader Plan for Change and Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, designed to "restore confidence in policing and deliver security for working people."

"New measures mean named and contactable officers for every neighbourhood and guaranteed police patrols in busy areas at peak times, such as town centres, ending years of postcode lottery."

The government promises that, under these plans, communities "will be safer and trust in local policing will be restored."

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.

'Havoc'

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."

'Feeling abandoned'

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 on 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."