Police minister praises neighbourhood policing
17 September 2026
Policing minister Sarah Jones highlighted the value of neighbourhood policing and referenced talking to Coventry police officers during a visit to the city when she addressed the Superintendents’ Association Conference in Stratford upon Avon this week.
Ms Jones said the Government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee had delivered more than 3,800 officers and PCSOs into neighbourhood policing roles, exceeding its target for the first year.
“This means more visible neighbourhood policing, and a greater focus on the issues that matter most to local communities. Building on that strong start, we need to keep going as we work towards the target of 13,000 additional neighbourhood policing personnel by the end of this Parliament,” she told delegates.
“And that’s about more than just numbers. We are also restoring the link between policing and communities with named, contactable officers for every neighbourhood and guaranteed 72-hour response times for neighbourhood queries.
“I’ve just come before here from a visit in Coventry, where I was talking to local police officers tackling antisocial behaviour, dodgy vape shops, the challenges that we know our communities care about so much, the value of neighbourhood policing, the intelligence and the wisdom that they have was there to see, and it is on every visit that I go on.”
Challenges
The minister acknowledged that she had learned a lot about policing in the last 12 months including the challenges of policing in an online age, the split-second operational decisions in situations others can barely comprehend, the painstaking investigations carried out over months and years to tackle the most dangerous threats, the obstacles that stop the service performing to the levels it could reach and the enduring courage that is the hallmark of British policing.
The Police Efficiency and Collaboration Programme, she told conference, was cutting unnecessary bureaucracy but she admitted that the case for changing the funding formula for forces had been well made with the Government committed to a proper review. A new approach to allocating funding would be introduced as part of Government reforms to police structures.
“Ultimately, we’re looking to ensure that more resources meet the frontline,” Ms Jones said.
Elaborating on the Government’s reform programme, she explained: “The Police Reform White Paper set out our plans for the biggest structural changes in 200 years.
“At the heart of this programme is a commitment to strengthen local policing through the introduction of stronger and more empowered Local Policing Areas.
“We’ll establish the National Police Service to tackle national threats, deliver national capabilities, and support forces to provide a more consistent service to the public.
Improvement
“And we will introduce a force structure that reduces duplication, improves resilience, and addresses the inefficiencies of maintaining 43 separate HR, finance and support functions, while ensuring forces have sufficient scale and capability to respond to major incidents.
“Reform isn’t just a structural exercise; 80 per cent of the total police budget is spent on people. The officers and staff who invest heavily in their careers, who are the service’s most vital asset.
“We are developing a new Police Workforce Strategy to ensure policing has the right people, with the right skills, in the right places, at the right time.”
She also outlined plans to provide better support to police officers and their families.
“The Police Covenant is central to that. And we are putting support for officers and staff at the heart of our police reform, with a package of measures backed by £2.4 million in additional funding this year,” the minister added.
“This is about doing right by those who put themselves under extraordinary pressure every day, facing situations that most people could barely imagine. And going to remarkable lengths to keep the rest of us safe.
“For what we ask of you and your colleagues, the least we can do, as a society, is make sure help is there when needed.”
Funerals
Ms Jones began her speech by recognising the tragic deaths of Cleveland officers PC Matthew Blades and PC Tom Clough whose funerals she attended last week.
Earlier this year she was also at the funeral of Northumbria PC Jess Turnbull, and she also recognised the death of three other officers in the last 12 months – PC Bradley Corke of Kent Police, PC Faizaan Najeeb of Northamptonshire Police and PC Mark Chester of the Ministry of Defence Police.
The policing minister said: “I realise too that the work doesn’t stop just because someone has lost their life and something dreadful has happened. You and your colleagues have to carry on serving your communities despite the shock and sadness, and I saw that in Cleveland on the two days that I was there.
“So, let me say clearly, on behalf of the Government, that we value you, we cherish you, and we stand by you today and always.
“In honouring the memory of those officers who have lost their lives, and all the officers and staff who have died in the line of duty, we have a responsibility to give thanks for their service and their sacrifice, and that of every man and woman who goes to work every day with a singular aim: keeping the rest of us safe.”
