Home Secretary visits Wearside to announce Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee

Yvette Cooper joined Durham Constabulary in Durham City Centre where she spoke with local business owners and residents about their concerns.

The Home Secretary was in Durham as part of the Government’s Safer Streets initiative to “prevent crime and antisocial behaviour in town centres and ensure visible, meaningful consequences for those responsible”.

Whilst in the region Ms Cooper also unveiled the rolling out of the Government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.

The initiative will see 13,000 more officers into communities by 2029, with dedicated anti-social behaviour leads and new visible patrols in town centres.

The guarantee also ensures every neighbourhood across England and Wales now has named, contactable officers in place to tackle issues blighting their communities, “marking a major milestone in the government’s Plan for Change”.

Police forces including Durham and Northumbria have also signed up to a commitment to respond to neighbourhood queries within 72 hours.

Speaking in Durham City at the official launch of the initiative the Home Secretary said: “Neighbourhood policing has been decimated over the last 15 years, but through our Plan for Change we are turning the corner, starting with town and city centres.

“Within the next year, we will have 3,000 new neighbourhood officers and PCSOs in place, which is a big shift.

“We also want them to have more powers to tackle off-road bikes, shop theft, street theft and other crimes that have blighted some of our town and city centres, so everyone can feel safe in their own town.”

Ms Cooper also announced the rollout of 10 new Live Facial Recognition (LFR) vans to seven forces across the country, equipping officers with “targeted, cutting-edge technology to catch high-harm criminals”.

The vehicles enable police officers to target and locate wanted criminals and suspects for the most serious crimes including sex offences, violent assaults, homicide and serious and organised crime.

Forces already using LFR have used it to arrest rape, domestic abuse, knife crime and robbery suspects as well as sex offenders breaching their conditions. The technology has also been used to maintain safety at big public events.

The Home Secretary added: “We will provide the police with the tools they need to do their jobs. Facial recognition will be used in a targeted way to identify sex offenders or people wanted for the most serious crimes who the police have not been able to find.

“That's why we're funding 10 vans and also drawing up a new legal framework, so we've got proper safeguards and checks in place so that we can use the technology to go after the most dangerous criminals.”

Following the announcement of the ‘guarantee’ John Hayward-Cripps, Chief Executive, Neighbourhood Watch said: “The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee reflects what many Neighbourhood Watch members want: responsive policing that prioritises local relationships. This is so important because people stop reporting issues when they don’t have confidence that something will be done.

“We know that successful community policing takes time. Having named and contactable officers is an extremely positive step, the most effective neighbourhood policing models combine targeted approaches with genuine community engagement.

“Working with communities as partners rather than passive recipients should deliver the visible, community-based policing that not only keeps people safer, but builds confidence and encourages all of us to play an active role in our communities.”