Neighbourhood Policing Plan
The Home Secretary announced major new policing reforms this week which will help to speed up police response times and rebuild neighbourhood policing after years of Conservative failure.
The reforms will force faster responses to emergencies - with officers expected to reach serious incidents within 15 minutes in urban areas and 20 minutes in rural communities, and 999 calls answered within 10 seconds. Forces that fail to meet these standards will face direct intervention, including specialist turnaround teams sent in by the Home Secretary.
Alongside faster response times, the reforms will modernise policing for the digital age. Around 90 per cent of crime now leaves a digital footprint, so police forces across England and Wales will recruit more crime analysts, cyber investigators and digital forensics specialists to help track down fraudsters, online abusers and organised criminal networks.
The changes would make a real difference to communities in Cardiff North that have been left waiting too long for help.
New analysis shows that under the last Conservative government, street crime surged - with shoplifting up by around 70 per cent and theft from the person rising by around 60 per cent - while neighbourhood policing collapsed. By the time the Tories left office, there were more than 18,000 fewer officers and PCSOs in neighbourhood roles than a decade earlier, and more than half of the public said they never see a police officer on patrol.
Alongside faster response times, Labour’s reforms will slash the red tape and bureaucracy that have kept officers stuck behind desks, while giving police leaders the flexibility to build a workforce with the right mix of frontline officers and specialist expertise. This will put more officers back on the streets, ensuring forces have the skills needed to uncover vital evidence on phones and laptops and secure more convictions for serious crimes such as fraud, child sexual abuse and organised crime.
Every council ward will have named, contactable neighbourhood officers, with residents guaranteed a response to local concerns within 72 hours.
At the same time, the creation of a new National Police Service will take responsibility for tackling serious and organised crime such as terrorism and fraud – freeing up local officers to focus on everyday crimes like shoplifting, antisocial behaviour and street theft.
This is just part of the biggest policing overhaul in two centuries, set out in the Home Secretary’s White Paper, which also includes the introduction of a Licence to Practise for police officers, raising standards and ensuring officers receive the training, development and support needed to meet the demands of modern policing.