Labour aims to ‘put more bobbies back on the beat’ with £200 million to kickstart recruitment

In a bid to increase neighbourhood policing, the Labour Party is aiming putting more bobbies back on the beat, with the UK Government delivering up to 33 new neighbourhood police officers for the Dyfed Powys Police within a year.

The news has been welcomed today by Dame Nia Griffith, Labour MP for Llanelli, and comes as part of a £200 million investment by the UK Government to kickstart the recruitment of 13,000 neighbourhood police officers and PCSOs by the end of the Parliament.

This initial funding boost will see almost 3,000 more police officers and PCSOs in neighbourhood roles nationwide by March 2026, including up to 33 FTE police officers for the Dyfed Powys area.

This is an important first step in cracking down on the antisocial behaviour and street crime that has blighted our town and village centres for too long. From July, every force will be patrolling local towns at peak times, providing the enhanced visibility and presence that our high streets have been crying out for.

The last UK Government slashed neighbourhood policing and by the time they left office more than half of the public said they never saw a bobby on the beat. On the Tories’ watch, the number of PCSOs halved and the number of Special Constables plummeted by two-thirds, whilst shoplifting and street crime spiralled out of control.

The current UK Labour Government is determined to restore the vital link between police forces and local communities, ensuring that officers are visible and present in their local areas.

Alongside the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, the UK Government’s new Crime and Policing Bill will introduce a suite of new powers for the police to crack down on local crimes. This will include Respect Orders to clamp down on persistent antisocial offenders and ban them from our town centres, new powers for the police to instantly seize dangerous and deafening off-road bikes causing havoc on our high streets and a new offence of assaulting a retail worker to protect hard-working shop workers.

The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will give every area named, contactable neighbourhood policing teams by July, with officers carrying out patrols at peak teams.

Dame Nia Griffith, MP for Llanelli, said:

“The previous Tory government decimated neighbourhood policing and our communities have paid the price.

“This government is determined to put bobbies back on the beat and give officers the powers they need to crack down on local crimes. With 3,000 additional officers and PCSOs in neighbourhood roles across the UK just this year, we are showing the difference a Labour Government can make”.

“I am delighted that funding has been made available to delivering up to 33 new neighbourhood police officers specifically for Dyfed Powys. Local communities across Llanelli will begin to see the difference and people will be able to feel safer as a result.”