The Government has announced that Wales will see a significant boost to the number of neighbourhood police officers on its streets, as the UK government is set to invest a record £18.4bn on crime fighting.
Each police force in Wales is set to receive a real-terms increase in funding next year, including up to £170.9m for Dyfed-Powys Police (a cash increase of 4.5%), up to £205.2m for Gwent Police (up 4.2%), up to £235.8m for North Wales Police (4.3%) and up to £458.9m for South Wales Police (3.9%).
Local forces across England and Wales will receive up to £18.4bn, an increase of £796m compared to last year and a 2.3% real terms increase.
This includes an additional £50m to help deliver the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, which will put an additional 13,000 neighbourhood policing personnel into roles by the end of this parliament.
In April 2025, the Government pledged to put 3,000 officers into neighbourhood roles within 12 months to drive down crime and anti-social behaviour blighting town centres and residential areas. Almost 2,400 additional neighbourhood officers have been put into post in the six months up to the end of September 2025, a 14% increase since the end of March 2025.
From April, the government is scrapping the outdated Officer Maintenance Grant and replacing it with a new Neighbourhood Policing Ringfence. This will guarantee forces deliver on targets for neighbourhood policing, while freeing them from the burden of arbitrary officer headcount targets.
Since 2023, police chiefs have been forced to maintain arbitrary officer headcounts each year via the Officer Maintenance Grant. This has led to forces hiring uniformed officers and then, in some cases, putting them in back-office roles instead of out in communities, tracking down suspects and attending call outs from victims.
As a result, the number of trained officers in support roles has soared by over 40% to more than 12,600 in the last six years, while the total number of officers only increased by around 20% in the same period.
Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood (left), said: “Since taking office, this government has increased police funding by nearly £2bn. We’re restoring neighbourhood policing, with nearly 2,400 more neighbourhood officers in our communities.
“And we’re now reforming policing, so local forces protect their communities, and national policing protects us all.”
Secretary of State for Wales, Jo Stevens (right), added: “People in every part of Wales deserve to feel safe in their communities and have confidence in the police to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour that blights lives.
“The UK Government is delivering a record levels of funding to help police forces put yet more officers on the streets, boosting the number of neighbourhood police officers even further.”
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