Andy Higgins: Neighbourhood police stop crime before it happens

ALTHOUGH it is often thought of as a traditional way of doing things, neighbourhood policing is a 21st century invention.

Between 2005 and 2008, following a successful pilot, the New Labour government rolled out a patchwork quilt of more than 3,500 local ‘neighbourhood’ policing teams across England and Wales.

The 30,000 police officers and PCSOs who worked in them weren’t there to answer 999 calls or investigate crime; their job was to provide a familiar presence on the streets, to engage with local people, find out their concerns and to resolve local issues in tailored and creative ways – a process sometimes called ‘problem solving’.

Their focus tended to be on the highly visible issues, like anti-social behaviour, that, while not as serious as some other types of crimes, had a big impact on people’s quality of life and sense of security.

A lot has changed in the last decade. Police forces have seen significant reductions to their budgets, and while crime has generally fallen, the demands on the police, including investigating more serious complex crimes like rape, and responding to emergency ‘welfare’ calls, have intensified.

Priorities have also shifted; the police and other agencies have become increasingly aware of the less-visible abuse and harm that occurs ‘behind closed doors’ or online, and are doing more work to protect vulnerable people.

Arguably, ‘low level’ public-space issues such as anti-social behaviour have received less attention as a result. Finally, the way policing is run has changed; whereas the Home Office used to play a major role in deciding how policing was done, far more control is now given to police forces and their elected Police and Crime Commissioners to adapt to local circumstances.