Retailers across England and Wales are welcoming a boost in police patrols, with almost 2,400 additional officers now working in neighbourhood roles following a nationwide recruitment drive.
The move comes after the government pledged in April last year to deploy 3,000 neighbourhood officers within 12 months to tackle antisocial behaviour and shop theft in town centres and residential areas.
Data for the first six months – up to September 2025 – shows the programme is on track, with 2,383 police officers and community support officers now in neighbourhood roles.
The expansion is a key step towards the government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, which aims to double neighbourhood policing with an extra 13,000 officers by the end of this parliament.
A record £18.4bn investment has been earmarked for policing next year – up £3.3bn on last year – while a new Neighbourhood Policing Ringfence is intended to move officers from desk-based roles back onto the beat.
The Home Office said the measure will help to fix the “broken funding model”. Currently, the Home Office has forced chiefs to maintain arbitrary officer headcounts each year via the Officer Maintenance Grant.
This led to forces hiring uniformed officers and then putting them in back-office roles instead of being out in communities, tracking down suspects and attending callouts from victims.
As a result, the number of officers in desk-based support roles has risen by more than 40% over the past six years, while total officer numbers increased by around 20%.
“Neighbourhood policing has been devastated after a decade of austerity under the previous government,” said home secretary Shabana Mahmood.
“To make matters worse, too many forces ended up with officers behind desks doing HR and admin. I am putting police back where they belong – on the beat, fighting crime and catching criminals in our communities.”
Trade bodies have welcomed the move. “We strongly welcome the government’s ongoing plan to put more police on the streets to keep communities safer,” said ACS CEO James Lowman.
“Retailers are already noticing the difference in the local police presence in their communities and the relationships they’re building with neighbourhood policing teams, but this momentum must be backed up by the rest of the justice system.
“When crimes like theft and abuse in store are reported, they should be investigated and the criminals responsible must be put on a path to stop the cycle of reoffending.”
Usdaw general secretary Joanne Thomas added: “We very much welcome this further investment from Labour into neighbourhood policing, to help tackle crime and antisocial behaviour in communities and town centres. Usdaw’s latest interim survey results show the level of attacks on retail workers remains high.
“It is shocking that nearly three-quarters of those working in retail are regularly facing abuse from customers, with far too many experiencing threats and violence. This is a hugely important issue for our members, and they are saying loud and clear that enough is enough.”
As a result of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, dedicated teams are now spending their time out on the streets tackling antisocial behaviour, shop theft and vandalism through increased police patrols in town centres and other hotspots.
The Safer Streets summer initiative covered 650 town centres across the country, resulting in over 16,000 arrests and fines, and targeted visible patrols were up almost 20% compared to the previous year. It built upon the Winter of Action initiative, which is ongoing.
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