Tyneside and Wearside to benefit from over 150 new police officers to tackle anti-social behaviour and community crime

The increase in Northumbria Police officers is part of a national Government drive to ensure “visible patrols will return to town centres after a decade of decline”.

The Government have pledged that the new bobbies on the beat will guarantee a response to reported crimes within 72 hours, with every neighbourhood in the North East having a named contactable officer by July (2025).

The additional £200m of national funding will also see a dedicated antisocial behaviour leader in each force working with residents and businesses to develop tailored action plans.

It’s hoped the new funding will ensure more regular patrols in the region’s town and city centres.

The funding will pay for up to 95 additional neighbourhood police officers and 27 new Police Community Support Officers for Northumbria Police.

Durham Constabulary will also benefit from an additional 26 neighbourhood police officers.

After being informed of the additional resources, Northumbria Police Chief Constable Vanessa Jardine said: “When we learned of the opportunity to increase our numbers, we decided to grab it with both hands.

“This will enable us to provide a more visible presence that the public always tell us they want to see.

“We have always valued neighbourhood policing here in Northumbria but this will give us a real boost to help us make communities safer, prevent crime and disorder, solve local problems and build on our already strong relationships with our fantastic communities.”

Northumbria Police and Crime Commissioner, Susan Dungworth, added: “Like me, residents want to see officers out there on the streets, embedded in their local communities. So, this is a hugely welcome boost for our police, as a workforce, and for local people who we want to feel safe in their daily lives.

“With my full backing, the Chief Constable put forward an ambitious bid for more officers for our region – to help make those in uniform more visible and accessible wherever you live – whether in our busy towns or our more remote rural areas.

“As PCC, I have set out a clear plan for Northumbria for safer streets and stronger communities and the neighbourhood policing guarantee will play a vital role in helping deliver on my priority to ensure we have an engaged and responsive police force.

“With dedicated funding from Government for neighbourhood policing, we can now press on with big recruitment plans for the region so we can get more officers out where they are needed tackling crime, preventing disorder and providing that welcome police reassurance we all like to see.”

The new Northumbria Police recruits are part of a national programme to ensure 3,000 additional staff in neighbourhood roles nationwide by April next year (2026).

By the end of the Labour government’s current term in office(2029), the North East will see its share of the 13,000 additional neighbourhood officers that will be deployed across England and Wales. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has also pledged to equip police officers with with “new powers through the Crime and Policing Bill to tackle street crime and antisocial behaviour more effectively”.

She added: "The heartbeat of our Great British policing tradition is seeing bobbies on the beat, but for too long, communities have been feeling abandoned as crime soars. Too many communities no longer feel safe because they do not have local officers to turn to as yobs and street criminals run amok in their towns and villages.

"It should not matter where you live – everyone deserves local, visible policing they can trust, and with our Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee we will end this postcode lottery and restore policing to our communities."