Ad-hoc release: Growth under the Neighbourhood Policing Programme, as at September 2025 (management information)
Published 20 January 2026
Applies to England and Wales
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/neighbourhood-policing-programme-as-at-30-september-2025/ad-hoc-release-growth-under-the-neighbourhood-policing-programme-as-at-september-2025-management-information
Frequency of release: One-off ad-hoc release
Forthcoming releases: Home Office statistics release calendar
Home Office responsible statistician: Jodie Hargreaves
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Public enquiries: policingstatistics@homeoffice.gov.uk
Growth under the Neighbourhood Policing Programme, as at 30 September 2025: management information
In December 2024, under the Safer Streets Mission, and as part of the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee (NPG), the government announced a commitment to put 13,000 more policing personnel into neighbourhood policing roles. Forces could access funding from 1 April 2025 on the basis that they demonstrated growth in their neighbourhood policing teams. For the first time, this ad-hoc release reports on growth, as at 30 September 2025, using management information (MI) from the National Police Chiefs’ Council (NPCC).
Prior to the NPG, the Home Office collected information on neighbourhood police numbers on an annual basis only, as part of the ‘Police Workforce’ data collection, usually published in July as part of the ‘Police Workforce, as at 31 March’ statistical series. Neighbourhood policing data within this ad-hoc release, covering the situation as at 30 September 2025, is based on bespoke monitoring information collected by the NPCC, on police officers and Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) who are either categorised in the 1a neighbourhood policing function (under the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Police Objective Analysis (POA) framework), or in training and destined for the 1a neighbourhood policing function on completion of training. This bespoke collection was set up to allow reporting under the Neighbourhood Policing Programme.
To support the government’s upcoming white paper on police reform, selected neighbourhood policing statistics as at 30 September 2025 have been released in this Home Office ad-hoc publication ahead of their publication on 28 January 2026 as official statistics (and in fuller detail) in the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales’ statistical series. We have taken this approach since neighbourhood growth figures under the programme have not previously been publicly reported. This data has therefore been published in an ad-hoc data release for transparency and to ensure equal access to the information.
Across England and Wales, forces agreed to deliver 2,972 full-time equivalent (FTE) police officers and PCSOs by the end of the first financial year, covering the period 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. Individual force plans are currently available on GOV.UK.
Table 1 shows the growth in police officers and PCSOs in neighbourhood roles (including officers in training destined for a neighbourhood policing role) at 30 September 2025, compared with 31 March 2025, when funding for the programme began.
The MI shows that on 30 September 2025, forces had grown by 2,383 FTE since 31 March 2025, this is against an overall delivery target of 2,972 FTE for year one of the programme.
As with the total number of police workers, the number of police officers and PCSOs in neighbourhood roles can vary throughout the year depending on fluctuations in recruitment, retention, and rotations. Some forces may do an intake at a particular point in the year as it may be more efficient to do so, whereas other forces may choose to intake more consistently and continuously throughout the year. Therefore, figures should not be used to compare the progress of one force against another, nor should the mid-point progress point be used to project future recruitment.
Further information on neighbourhood police numbers, including breakdowns by worker types, will be published as part of the Official Statistics on 28 January 2026.
Table 1: Provisional NPCC management information: Growth (FTE) in neighbourhood policing roles (police officers and PCSOs) compared with 31 March 2025, as at 30 September 2025, by Police Force Area, England and Wales
| Police Force Area | Total growth FTE (including those in training destined for neighbourhood policing) |
|---|---|
| Cleveland | 25 |
| Durham | 51 |
| Northumbria | 83 |
| North East | 159 |
| Cheshire | 40 |
| Cumbria | 14 |
| Greater Manchester | 242 |
| Lancashire | 93 |
| Merseyside | 110 |
| North West | 499 |
| Humberside | 15 |
| North Yorkshire | 26 |
| South Yorkshire | 55 |
| West Yorkshire | 69 |
| Yorkshire and the Humber | 165 |
| Derbyshire | -19 |
| Leicestershire | 53 |
| Lincolnshire | -3 |
| Northamptonshire | -2 |
| Nottinghamshire | 11 |
| East Midlands | 39 |
| Staffordshire | 36 |
| Warwickshire | 23 |
| West Mercia | 36 |
| West Midlands | 324 |
| West Midlands | 419 |
| Bedfordshire | 13 |
| Cambridgeshire | 17 |
| Essex | 64 |
| Hertfordshire | 31 |
| Norfolk | 22 |
| Suffolk | 4 |
| Eastern | 151 |
| City of London | 13 |
| Metropolitan | 366 |
| London | 379 |
| Hampshire and Isle of Wight | 99 |
| Kent | 67 |
| Surrey | 11 |
| Sussex | 70 |
| Thames Valley | 73 |
| South East | 320 |
| Avon and Somerset | 68 |
| Devon and Cornwall | 15 |
| Dorset | 0 |
| Gloucestershire | -6 |
| Wiltshire | 17 |
| South West | 94 |
| England | 2,225 |
| Dyfed-Powys | -21 |
| Gwent | 42 |
| North Wales | 54 |
| South Wales | 83 |
| Wales | 158 |
| England and Wales | 2,383 |
Source: Provisional NPCC management information
Data notes
Police workers categorised as working in a neighbourhood policing role use the following definition from the CIPFA POA framework:
- neighbourhood policing teams, and Safer Neighbourhood teams whose primary role is neighbourhood based
- planned response that is scheduled or dealt with by appointment
Police workers are categorised, by police forces, based on their primary role, that is, the role in which they spend most of their time. Police workers with multiple responsibilities (or designations) are recorded under their primary role or function.
Police officers and PCSOs in training and destined for neighbourhood policing roles are included in reporting of growth against the baseline.
As with the total number of police workers, the number of police officers and PCSOs in neighbourhood roles can vary throughout the year depending on fluctuations in recruitment, retention, and rotations. Therefore, figures should not be used to compare the progress of one force against another, nor should the mid-point progress point be used to project future recruitment.
Figures presented in Table 1 are MI. The Official Statistics are scheduled for publication on 28 January 2026 on GOV.UK, as part of the ‘Police Workforce, England and Wales: 30 September 2025’ statistical release.