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The Government has set out how it would deliver its pledge to provide every community in the country with its own dedicated neighbourhood policing team by 2008.
£340 million is being made available by 2007/08 to fund 24,000 police community support officers (PCSOs) who, along with local wardens and special constables, will support regular police constables in tackling crime and disorder and making streets, estates and villages around the country safer.
The 24,000 PCSOs will be on top of the record 140,000 police officers. Government funding will ensure that the high level of police officers is maintained.
- Neighbourhood policing teams mean that local people will:
- know who their local police officers are and how to contact them;
- have a real say in local policing issues and setting local priorities; and
- know how well their police are doing locally in tackling crime and anti-social behaviour.
 Neighbourhood policing is not a soft option 
The Home Secretary, Charles Clarke
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By the Autumn of this year each of the 43 police forces will select one of their Basic Command Units to implement and champion neighbourhood policing and understand the best way of adapting neighbourhood policing for their area. The Government expects half the country to have neighbourhood policing by the end of 2007 with full implementation by 2008.
Neighbourhood policing will be much more than high visibility reassurance policing, it will also be using local knowledge and intelligence from local people to target crime hotspots and the disorder issues causing most concern to local communities. Mobile data and the latest radio technology will support the roll out of neighbourhood policing by cutting down on paperwork and ensuring that officers spend as much time as possible out in their communities and not stuck behind desks in police stations.
The Home Secretary, Charles Clarke, said: “Neighbourhood policing is not a soft option – it is a hard edged strategy that recognises the importance of visible, accessible, responsive and intelligence-led policing to combat all crime, from nuisance neighbours to drug dealers.
“The Government and the police service are absolutely committed to delivering effective neighbourhood policing. We have put the resources in place – we have record numbers of police officers supported by community support officers, and we are cutting paperwork to get officers back on the streets where they belong.
“But it must be a partnership - only by working hand in hand with local communities can we ensure that the police do not just provide a service to the community, but are a respected and integral part of it.
“Neighbourhood policing is about moving from policing by consent to policing with co-operation – actively engaging local people, winning their hearts and minds and responding to their needs and concerns. I believe that people do want to play a more active role in how their communities are policed and that involvement is crucial to cutting crime and making neighbourhoods safer.”
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