Our commitment to neighbourhood policing

Staffordshire Police is committed to neighbourhood policing and it is the foundation for all other policing in our county.

In every community in Staffordshire, people want to be safe and feel safe where they live, work and raise their families. Neighbourhood policing is key to achieving that. It is about understanding, tackling and resolving the things that matter most to local people, being accessible and contactable, and being seen regularly across all our communities.

After returning to a local policing model in June 2022, we established ten local policing teams across Staffordshire which has seen us back at the heart of local communities and working more closely to tackle those things that matter. His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) has positively recognised our improved problem-solving approaches and our work with partner agencies to tackle crime at its source.

As a result of new government funding, we will be recruiting an additional 53 neighbourhood officers and 15 special constables by March 2026. We will focus these resources on our crime and anti-social behaviour hotspots, on improving how fast we respond to such reports, on ensuring we proactively pursue criminals who prey on our communities and working with partners to ensure our town and city centres are safe and attractive places to enjoy.

These dedicated local officers will work with partners and communities to listen to tackle anti-social behaviour, shoplifting, personal robbery, supporting victims of domestic abuse, and diverting young people from offending. These are examples of the work officers do already as part of neighbourhood policing. Our focus will be on doing it better.

More than 260 arrests have been made in the last six months in Stoke-on-Trent as part of our Making Great Places initiative with the local authority. It has involved neighbourhood officers utilising their community contacts and intelligence to clear the area of criminals committing high-harm offences like serious violence, sexual offences and criminal exploitation - helping us to tackle the issues affecting local people and businesses the most.

We continue to police hotspot areas and have visible targeted patrols, which are the bedrock of community policing, and effective deterrents in detecting and preventing crime, as well as improve feelings of safety.

Examples of how neighbourhood policing helps communities:

• In April 2024, there was an increase in anti-social behaviour and robberies involving youths in Burton-on-Trent town centre. We received 15 calls in four weeks. An investigation, including knowledge and insight from local officers, analysis of CCTV, targeted patrols and stop and searches, a group of young people was identified. They were arrested, charged and referred to the youth offending team.
• Research shows that police working within schools results in a wealth of benefits for the police, for schools, their teachers and pupils, and for the wider community. We have trained 147 police community support officers so there is a consistency in how and what is delivered to schools to key stage 1, 2 and 3. They now have a number of dedicated resources about keeping safe, healthy relationships, exploitation and knife crime.

Chief Constable Chris Noble said: “We welcome the Government’s announcement which will enhance our commitment to neighbourhood policing.

“For the last three years, we have gone back to a local model of policing which means local officers, in particular, now know their communities, know where there’s hotspots of anti-social behaviour, build up that local intelligence and can address things that matter for local communities. It is about working with partner agencies on a local level, as effective policing cannot be delivered by the police alone.

“Police officer and staff numbers matter. This investment in Staffordshire Police is also an investment in our communities and places across Staffordshire. I welcome the opportunity to work further with Government and our local Police, Fire & Rescue and Crime Commissioner as we continue to rebuild our officer numbers back up the levels of 15 years ago.”

Staffordshire Commissioner for Police, Fire & Rescue and Crime Ben Adams said: “Neighbourhood policing is at the very heart of my Police & Crime Plan. I am committed to ensuring the communities of Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent have a police service that really understands what matters to them, is easy to contact and is proactive in solving their concerns.

“Having neighbourhood policing teams which are able to work in partnership to focus on crime prevention and early intervention means that our communities are not only safer but feel safer too, and have confidence in Staffordshire Police.”