GUEST COLUMN


England and Wales can compete in a global landscape of cyber-enabled crime. Yet, however sophisticated the


technology, the human cornerstone of policing remains the local officer— the one who walks the beat, listens to community concerns, and builds trust face-to-face.


THE NEIGHBOURHOOD POLICING PATHWAY Central to the government’s current ‘Safer Streets’ strategy is the Neighbourhood Policing Pathway (NPP), a renewed commitment to community policing. The plan is ambitious: 10,664 officers ring-fenced for neighbourhood duties, with a further 13,000 personnel promised by 2029. It reflects the understanding that while innovation is critical, true


confidence, all under the scrutiny of instant media commentary and data- driven accountability.


Neighbourhood officers will bear the weight of this expectation. Their role is increasingly complex, with communities fragmented along lines of ethnicity, religion, class, gender, and even football allegiance. They provide an anchor in a society where polarisation and specialisation have pulled other policing functions—like response and investigations—away from daily local engagement.


“Mental health support


a luxury but a necessity. Initiatives like the Essex and Kent Police wellbeing programmes show that protecting the protectors is a vital investment, particularly in a climate where police resignations have surged by more than 140 per cent since 2018.


is no longer a luxury but a necessity. Initiatives like the Essex and Kent


Police wellbeing programmes show that protecting the protectors is a vital investment.”


public safety depends on visible, trusted local policing.


Neighbourhood officers are more than crime responders—they are the literal face of the force. Their daily work exposes them to victims of burglary, stalking, domestic abuse, child exploitation, and anti-social behaviour. They are the first point of contact for rural communities plagued by livestock theft and urban residents facing the trauma of spiking, harassment, and violent retail crime. The Times Crime and Justice Commission (TCJC), established in 2024, examined the scale of the challenge in detail. Its report laid bare the harsh realities: more than 5.3 million recorded crimes in a year, with one in five homicides linked to domestic abuse; 194,434 serious sexual offences; and 620,861 cases of stalking and harassment. Yet these figures only scratch the surface. Surveys show that a majority of sexual offences and rural crimes go unreported, and the average victim of child sexual abuse waits 26 years before disclosing their trauma.


A DEMAND FOR REALISM — AND RESILIENCE The TCJC’s findings are sobering: there are no quick fixes. While its sixty-eight recommendations offer a structured path forward—including a proposed National Centre for Policing and enhanced professional licensing for officers—the report reinforces the scale of the task. Policing today must not only deliver on crime reduction but also rebuild public


47 | POLICE | OCTOBER | 2025


INTELLIGENCE AT THE HEART OF COMMUNITY SAFETY A modernised approach to intelligence is crucial. The Community Intelligence- Led Policing Methodology (CILPM) proposes an independent, corroborative system that allows local officers to log observations and professional insights with confidence they will be heard and acted upon. These logs, feeding incident reports and formal investigations, will become a lifeline both for victims and for the officers navigating the emotional toll of their work. Mental health support is no longer


REBUILDING TRUST, ONE STREET AT A TIME Ultimately, neighbourhood policing embodies the highest aspiration of the service: to be a sanctuary for victims and a deterrent to those who would harm the community. Whether in the recovery of stolen livestock, the quiet reassurance offered to stalking victims, or the complex safeguarding required in child sexual abuse cases, the neighbourhood officer is the keystone of public security.


As Britain moves into the second


quarter of the 21st century, the mission is clear. Success will not be measured solely in statistics but in the quiet, often unseen prevention of crime and the restoration of faith in local policing. The challenge is monumental, yet the prize—safer, stronger, more resilient communities—is beyond value.


Neighbourhood policing is not merely a function of the police; it is the living proof of a society that still believes in safety through trust, presence, and shared responsibility. In the face of global threats and local anxieties, it remains our most human defence.


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