MP welcomes announcement of more ‘bobbies on the beat’.
Milton Keynes MP Emily Darlington has welcomed today’s news that the Government is putting up to 68 new neighbourhood police officers into the Thames Valley force within a year.
The move comes as part of a £200 million investment by the Government to kickstart the recruitment of 13,000 neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs by the end of the Parliament.
This initial funding boost will see almost 3,000 more police officers and PCSOs in neighbourhood roles by March 2026.
It’s an important first step in cracking down on antisocial behaviour and street crime. From July, every force will be patrolling towns at peak times, providing the enhanced visibility and presence on high streets.
The Government is determined to restore the vital link between police forces and local communities, ensuring that officers are visible and present in their local areas, cracking down on crimes like antisocial behaviour, shoplifting and off-road biking.
Alongside the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, the Government’s new Crime and Policing Bill will introduce a suite of new powers for the police to crack down on local crimes. This will include Respect Orders to clamp down on persistent antisocial offenders and ban them from town centres, new powers for the police to instantly seize dangerous and deafening off-road bikes causing havoc on our high streets and a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect shop workers.
The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will give every area named, contactable neighbourhood policing teams by July, with officers carrying out patrols at peak times.
“Sixty eight new neighbourhood officers in the first year will make a huge difference, from protecting retail workers from abuse they should never have to face, to cracking down on off-road biking that makes our roads less safe,” said Emily Darlington, the MP for Milton Keynes Central.
“I’m so glad this government is bringing neighbourhood policing back. It’s been far too long since you could go to a familiar face to report crime in your town, to a neighbourhood officer who understands the area you live in.
“We’re giving the police and councils the powers they need to crack down on repeated antisocial behaviour and keep our communities safe.”
