Almost 2,400 additional police officers have been recruited into neighbourhood roles across England and Wales in just six months, according to new Home Office figures.
The data, covering six months to the end of September 2025, suggests the government is on track to deliver its promise of 3,000 extra neighbourhood officers within a year.
The commitment was announce last April as part of efforts to “drive down anti-social behaviour blighting town centres and residential areas,” it said.
Ministers said the recruitment drive marks progress towards the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, which aims to double neighbourhood policing by adding 13,000 officers by the end of current parliament.
As a result of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, dedicated teams are now spending their time out on the beat, claimed the Home Office, with additional patrols focused on anti-social behaviour, shop theft and vandalism.
Every neighbourhood now has named, contactable officers, while each force has a dedicated lead for anti-social behaviour, added the Home Office.
Bobbies on the beat, not behind desks
The government plans to move officers out of desk-based roles and back into frontline policing.
A new Neighbourhood Policing Ringfence would replace the current Officer Maintenance Grant, which the government argues had “led to forces hiring uniformed officers and then putting them in back-office roles”.
According to the Home Office, the number of trained police officers in desk-based support roles has soared by over 40% to more than 12,600 in the past six years, while the total number of officers only increased by around 20% in the same period.
Home secretary Shabana Mahmood said neighbourhood policing had been ”devastated” by austerity and criticised the use of frontline officers in administrative roles.
”I am putting police back where they belong – on the beat, fighting crime and catching criminals in our communities,” said Mahmood.
Momentum must be backed up by the rest of the justice system
Independent convenience retailers “strongly welcome” the government’s pledge to increase neighbourhood police presence.
”Retailers are already noticing the difference in the local police presence in their communities and the relationships that they’re building with neighbourhood policing teams, but this momentum must be backed up by the rest of the justice system,” said James Lowman, chief executive of the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS).
“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.”
Figures from the 2025 ACS Crime Report found that over half of independent convenience stores (52%) now rate their relationship with their neighbourhood policing team as very good.
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