PRESS RELEASE : Forces in Wales to have more neighbourhood resource to fight crime [November 2024]
The press release issued by the Wales Office on 26 November 2024.
Wales’s four police forces will be better supported by the UK Government as part of its mission to deliver safer streets.
Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens met the chief constables of the four Welsh police forces and the four Police and Crime Commissioners for the first time together last week, days after Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced more than half a billion pounds of additional UK Government funding for policing next year to support the government’s Safer Streets mission, including an increase in the core grant for police forces and extra resources for neighbourhood policing.
The reforms will restore community patrols with a Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, create an enhanced role for Police and Crime Commissioners to prevent crime and crack down on anti-social behaviour. The government has also pledged to recruit 13,000 more neighbourhood police and PCSOs, delivering additional resources for Welsh forces.
On Saturday (23 November) the Welsh Secretary joined South Wales Police officers on patrol in Cardiff following the Wales v South Africa Autumn Nations Series rugby international in the city.
She saw the force’s control room in Cardiff Bay Police Station before joining officers from South Wales Police’s Neighbourhood Policing Team on patrol in the city centre as well as meeting other organisations who operate there including Cardiff Street Pastors.
Welsh Secretary Jo Stevens said:
I joined the Neighbourhood Policing Team in Cardiff on Saturday to better understand the issues they see on the front line and I have spoken to all the Welsh chief constables and PCCs and heard about the challenges they face.
We know the public wants to see neighbourhood policing restored and for it to be properly resourced to tackle crime.
That’s what this government will deliver and we have already announced that we will recruit 13,000 neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs to do that.
Officers and the Welsh public can be clear that the UK Government will deliver improvements across our policing and justice system that will make a real difference.
Assistant Chief Constable Joanna Maal said:
We are pleased that the Secretary of State for Wales has taken up the opportunity to see first hand the scale and complexity of policing our capital city on a busy international match day.
Cardiff plays host to major events throughout the year, including high-profile music and sporting events, and we are proud to play our part in keeping visitors safe.
However, this has to be done in addition to the significant demands of policing the wider city and communities of South Wales.
Detailed spending plans for police forces in Wales and England for the financial year 2025-26 will be confirmed at the upcoming police funding settlement in December.
North Wales Police is one of 11 UK forces involved in a pilot of a new training programme for neighbourhood policing officers to improve standards and consistency.
The Neighbourhood Policing Pathway will help officers build on the skills they need to tackle the issues communities face every day. When fully rolled out, the training programme will be available to police forces across the country to enrol any neighbourhood officer or PCSO on.
