A £3 million funding boost will allow the Force to put an extra 31 police officers into neighbourhood policing roles over the next year.

The money will also cover costs for 20 neighbourhood PCSOs and 15 Specials.

On Thursday, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper announced details of funding for 2025 to 2026 as the start of a four-year Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee programme bringing 13,000 extra police officers, PCSOs and Specials into neighbourhood policing roles by the end of this Parliament.

Each force in England and Wales has been allocated a budget based on the Police Funding Formula with West Mercia Police receiving £3,108,283, in line with neighbouring Staffordshire’s allocation of £3,014,459.

Speaking on behalf of West Mercia Police Federation, Steve Butler said: “We welcome the Government’s plans to boost neighbourhood policing, an area that was severely hit by the budget cuts introduced from 2010, with the links into our communities being hard hit and public confidence in policing being dented.

“It is vital that we rebuild neighbourhood policing and this investment should help get us back on track by putting officers back into the hearts of our communities.

Neighbourhood

“But there has to be a commitment from police leaders to ensure neighbourhood officers are allowed to be just that – neighbourhood officers. They should not be pulled away from their communities to fill gaps in other areas.

“This Government programme must also be backed up with sustained investment not just in bringing in new officers but also helping retain those that we already have and that will involve an overhaul of the police pay review body since the current process is not fit for purpose.

“Officers do not feel they are valued or respected by the Government and they do not feel they are paid fairly given their unique role in society, the dangers they face and the challenges of modern-day policing. It’s no surprise that many are voting with their feet and leaving the service.

“The Government needs to stem this tide and help the police service overcome the officer retention crisis.”

As part of the Government’s plans, it wants every neighbourhood in England and Wales to have dedicated teams spending their time on the beat, with guaranteed police patrols in town centres and other hotspot areas at peak times such as Friday and Saturday nights. 

Communities

Communities will have named, contactable officers to tackle the issues facing their communities. There will also be a dedicated anti-social behaviour lead in every force, working with residents and businesses to develop tailored action plans.

In announcing the funding, Ms Cooper said: “The heartbeat of our Great British policing tradition is seeing bobbies on the beat, but for too long, too many communities have been feeling abandoned as crime soared and neighbourhood police disappeared, even when local crimes like shop theft, street theft or blatant drug dealing rose sharply.

“That’s why this Government is determined to get police back on the beat and into our town centres. 

“It should not matter where you live – everyone deserves local, visible policing they can trust, and with our Plan for Change and Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee we will tackle this postcode lottery and restore policing to our communities.”

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