The Prime Minister’s plan to restore neighbourhood policing could place even more pressure on the already crumbling criminal justice system, campaigners warned.
Sir Keir Starmer said putting “more police on the beat” and “stamping out anti-social behaviour in every community” was one of six “milestones” he had set as he unveiled a “plan for change” during a speech at Pinewood Studios near Slough on Thursday.
Promising to give every neighbourhood in England and Wales a named, contactable officer and announcing £100 million in funding to support the effort, he repeated Labour’s previous pledge to hire 13,000 police officers, police community support officers (PCSOs) and special constables, which is expected to bring the total police workforce back to a higher level than its 2010 peak.
Sir Keir said the move would be a “relief for millions of people scared to walk their own streets”.
But campaigners, although welcoming the announcement, warned it could place even more pressure on an already crumbling criminal justice system amid the overcrowding crisis in prisons and lengthy court backlogs.
Meanwhile, the Conservative opposition leader, Kemi Badenoch, called the Prime Minister’s words into question, describing the speech as an “emergency reset” and claiming “fewer than a third” of the officers were “actually new police officers”.
Richard Atkinson, president of the Law Society of England and Wales, said: “The Prime Minister’s focus on crime and justice is a welcome one. However, it will be essential that the increased funding for more police officers is matched by investment in legal aid, the Crown Prosecution Service and courts.
“More police on the streets means more arrests and a huge knock-on effect on the rest of the system.
“After decades of neglect of our criminal justice system, sustained investment and long-term measures which take all parts of the system: legal aid, police, prosecution, courts, prisons, probation; into account, is the only solution.”
Sir Keir told the audience Labour’s so-called “neighbourhood policing guarantee” would “deliver 13,000 extra neighbourhood police visible on the beat, cracking down on anti-social behaviour and a named, contactable officer in every community – a relief for millions of people scared to walk their own streets.”
The pledge is “only made possible because we are matching investment with reform, standardising procurement, streamlining specialist capabilities like digital forensics, ending the madness of each of our 43 forces purchasing their own cars and their own uniforms”, he added.
A document published to accompany the speech said community policing had been “diminished” over the years, with “neighbourhood officers pulled off the beat to plug shortages elsewhere” which was “weakening connections with communities they serve”.
It said the Government would put “13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and special constables into neighbourhood policing roles” to make sure “police are visible in every community, deterring and preventing crime as well as responding to emergencies.”
Alongside this, there are plans to “raise standards, harness technology, increase efficiency and improve accountability”, the document added.
“We will know we have delivered this when we have 13,000 additional police officers, PCSOs and special constables in dedicated neighbourhood policing roles – demonstrably spending time on visible patrol and not taken off the beat to plug shortages elsewhere”, it said.
Clear performance standards for police will be set with a new “police and crime performance unit” in the Home Office using data to spot trends and push through improvements to end “inconsistency” across force areas. It will also set minimum standards for neighbourhood policing, according to the document.
Figures published on Thursday estimated more than 100,000 prisoners could be held in jails in England and Wales by 2029, with the rising number of suspects being charged and prosecuted, more cases coming to court and tougher sentences among the reasons considered to be behind the anticipated increase.
The data came after Whitehall’s spending watchdog warned, earlier this week, that Government plans to boost prison capacity could fall short by thousands of cell spaces within two years and cost the taxpayer billions of pounds more than anticipated.
Meanwhile, the country’s top prosecutor warned delays in the criminal justice system are “probably worse than I’ve ever known them to be” as he branded court delays faced by victims as “totally unacceptable”.
Prosecutors have told how courts are now listing cases for 2027, with victims waiting between two and five years to see a case go to trial.
