THE WEST Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) has welcomed a boost in neighbourhood policing in the region.
Simon Foster has hailed the Labour Government which met its neighbourhood policing target two months earlier than projected – meaning more police back on the beat in local communities.
Home Office figures revealed that 338 neighbourhood police officers and police community support officers (PCSOs) have been hired or redeployed by West Midlands Police in the last year, the biggest rise in police officers outside London.
This comes as part of plans to tackle crime in local communities and roll out an additional 13,000 neighbourhood officers nationwide by the end of this parliament.
Last year saw murders and serious violent crimes fall to their lowest level in more than a decade, and across December and January the Home Office’s Winter of Action scheme saw 18,000 arrests in 600 towns and cities as the government stepped up its efforts to tackle assaults, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour across the country.
Mr Foster said: “Rebuilding community policing is a top priority for me and our Labour government. I welcome the additional 338 neighbourhood officers in the West Midlands.
“We need an accessible, reassuring and visible police presence out on the streets, to prevent and tackle crime and antisocial behaviour and to keep people, families, businesses and local communities safe and secure.
“I will continue to work with our Labour government to deliver on that commitment for the people and communities of the West Midlands.”
As part of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, all police forces in England and Wales now have a designated anti-social behaviour lead and publish a bespoke Anti-Social Behaviour Action Plan.
The plans are part of the government’s police reforms that will also see a new National Police Service to focus on nationwide and cross-border crime, regional forces to carry out complex investigations such as homicide, rape and county lines, and introduce Local Policing Areas in cities, towns and boroughs.
Crime and Policing Minister, Sarah Jones, said: “We’re delivering the biggest reforms to policing in over 200 years and, crucially, putting 13,000 more neighbourhood officers where they belong – on the beat and fighting crime in our communities.
The Government will halve knife crime within a decade, saving lives and protecting communities.”
