Police officers on foot will patrol every busy neighbourhood at peak times as part of a set of community-focused measures to be unveiled by Keir Starmer.
In an announcement billed as a return to an era of “bobbies on the beat”, the prime minister will also confirm that every neighbourhood in England and Wales will be given a named and contactable police officer.
The plans are expected to be in place by July, and follow the government’s promises to restore confidence in community policing. Labour’s leadership is under pressure to offer new policies for party councillors in England to sell on the doorstep as they gear up to fight local elections on May Day.
Starmer will say that visible policing has fallen dramatically over the past decade and will reiterate plans to put 13,000 more officers into neighbourhood policing roles by 2029.
“For years, crimes such as shoplifting and antisocial behaviour have wreaked havoc on our neighbourhoods,” he will say. “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.”
Officials said every neighbourhood in England and Wales will have dedicated teams “on the beat” with guaranteed police patrols at peak times such as Friday and Saturday nights. There will also be a dedicated antisocial behaviour lead officer in every force, working with residents and businesses to develop tailored action plans, a statement said.
The model announced by Starmer is inspired by an initiative launched two years ago by Greater Manchester police (GMP), which the force said had helped reduce burglary by a third, vehicle crime by a quarter and led to the conviction of about 100 shoplifters a week.
As well as having a named officer for every area, GMP has sent more resources – both visible and undercover – into problem areas such as particular local supermarkets and parks, in part based on data identifying crime hotspots.
Ch Insp Stephen Warriner, of GMP, admitted that police in recent years had “lost the confidence of our businesses and our communities to report crime to us”.
As part of its neighbourhood policing drive, GMP is known to have placed undercover officers in shops wearing supermarket uniforms in an attempt to catch thieves in the act.
Warriner did not deny the force used this approach when asked by reporters in Manchester this week, saying only: “We will certainly do our utmost to blend in as part of the community.”
Darryl Stuart-Cole, the manager of a Co-op supermarket in Withington, south Manchester, said his store was targeted 20-30 times a week by shoplifters and that some of his staff now feared coming to work. “Most of the offenders walk in, fill their bags and walk out,” he said, adding that four or five regular offenders were responsible for the vast majority of thefts.
In its 2024 general election manifesto, Labour promised 13,000 more police officers on the frontline, made up of fully warranted officers, community support officers and volunteer specials. The announcement will include the first tranche, about one-third, of the promised officers.
Forces will have some say in the mix between fully warranted officers, police community support officers, specials, and potentially employing police staff to free up officers in back office jobs to return to front-facing roles.
A senior police source said: “It’s welcome money. We’d rather take the money with no strings attached and invest in other things. But no police chief is going to turn down more police officers if they are being offered.”
From 2010 the Conservative government cut budgets and officer numbers by 20,000 as part of their austerity programme. Then, in the run-up to the 2019 election, they announced a hiring spree of 20,000 new officers.
The government set aside £200m to fund neighbourhood policing this financial year, which comes out of the central police settlement. However, several forces have warned that existing funding levels mean they will still have to make cuts.
Crime is expected to be a key battleground in the local elections, with the latest YouGov tracker poll showing that 63% of the public believe that the government is handling crime in the UK badly.
In response to Starmer’s announcement, Chris Philp, the shadow home secretary, said: “The previous Conservative government delivered record police officers, but law and order is taking a backseat under Labour.
“They must urgently get a grip to ensure our police have the resources they need to cut crime and keep the British people safe.”
