Neighbourhood
Policing Guarantee
A new national standard for visible, community-led policing. Understanding the 13,000 officer commitment.
Policy Snapshot
The January 2026 White Paper places neighbourhood policing at the core of structural reform. The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee establishes national minimum standards for visibility and accessibility, supported by a commitment to deliver 13,000 additional officers and staff into community roles by the end of the Parliament.
The publication of the January 2026 Police Reform White Paper, titled "A New Era for Policing," marks a fundamental shift in the government’s strategic priorities. At the very centre of this reform package is the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee—a policy intended to rebuild the historical foundation of British policing: policing by consent through local visibility.
For many serving officers, commitments to "return to neighbourhood policing" are familiar refrains. However, the 2026 White Paper argues that this time is different, precisely because the guarantee is backed by a specific budgetary and performance framework. It moves neighbourhood policing from an "optional local model" to a national requirement, mandating that every community in England and Wales receives a consistent, high-standard level of service.
As this guide will explore, the guarantee is not just about increasing numbers. It is about professionalising the neighbourhood role, integrating it with the new National Police Service (NPS) for technical support, and ensuring that local teams are protected from being constantly "abstracted" to fill gaps in response or specialist units. This page explains what is confirmed, what is proposed, and what it means for the day-to-day reality of frontline officers.
Why Neighbourhood Policing is Being Prioritised
The government’s case for foundational community reform.
Public Confidence
Declining trust in local policing is cited as the primary driver for structural change.
Visibility Gap
Over 50% of the public report never seeing an officer on foot patrol in their local area.
Local Impact
Anti-social behaviour (ASB) and 'low-level' crime are framing public perceptions of legitimacy.
Foundational Legitimacy
Visibility is framed as essential for the intelligence-gathering needed to fight serious crime.
The White Paper presents a stark internal audit of public sentiment. It argues that while policing has become more technically proficient in handling serious crime, it has simultaneously become "distant" from the public it serves. This distance, the government claims, has eroded the foundational principle of policing by consent.
A key data point cited is the "Visibility Gap." When over half of the public feel that police presence has vanished from their high streets and neighbourhoods, the legitimacy of the service begins to suffer. The government argues that Anti-Social Behaviour (ASB) and what is often dismissed as "low-level" crime are, in fact, the issues that most significantly impact public confidence and domestic security.
Consequently, the 2026 reform is not just a structural reorganization; it is a cultural and operational pivot. By placing neighbourhood policing at the very top of the new Police Performance Framework, the government is signaling that visibility is no longer an optional "extra" but a mandatory core function of every force.
The 13,000 Officer Commitment
Track how the additional neighbourhood capacity is intended to be phased in over the next four years.
Phase 1: 2026 Focus
Immediate recruitment and redeployment of existing staff into neighbourhood roles.
Source: January 2026 Home Office White Paper. Phasing Subject to legislative timelines.
What is the "Guarantee"?
Defining the national minimum service standards.
National Standards
Minimum requirements for visibility and accessibility that every force must meet.
Consistent Delivery
Ending the 'postcode lottery' where the quality of local policing depends on force area.
Embedded Teams
Ensuring neighbourhood officers are permanent fixtures in their communities, not temporary surge units.
In the context of the White Paper, a "Guarantee" moves beyond a simple mission statement. It implies a contractual-style commitment to the public. This means that for the first time, there will be a national script of what "good" neighbourhood policing looks like, and forces will be held accountable for delivering it.
The core of the guarantee is Consistency. Whether an officer is serving in a rural shire or an inner-city borough, the expectations for visibility, community engagement, and problem-solving remain the same. This is designed to underpin the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee as the national brand for community safety.
Delivering the 13,000
The government’s headline commitment is the addition of 13,000 neighbourhood policing officers and staff by the end of the current Parliament. This is not just a recruitment target; it is a structural mandate to ensure that these officers are "embedded" and protected from abstraction.
Community Embedding
Focus on permanent presence rather than reactive response rotations.
Local Priorities
Focusing on the issues that community members vote as most important (ASB, theft, etc.).
Problem-Solving
Empowering officers with the time to tackle the root causes of repeat offending.
phasing & delivery
The delivery of the 13,000 officers will be phased. The White Paper acknowledges that recruiting and training such a significant number of officers—while also managing the 20,000 "uplift" recruits from previous years—is a major logistical challenge.
Phasing will likely occur over four years (2026-2029). Initial cohorts will be deployed into "priority areas" where confidence is lowest and crime rates are highest. This data-driven approach ensures that the impact of the guarantee is felt immediately where it is needed most.
How success will be measured
Moving beyond simple headcounts to performance outcomes.
Police Performance Framework
The guarantee is explicitly linked to the new Police Performance Framework. This means that force performance in neighbourhood policing delivery will be measured nationally and published transparently. Success will be determined by:
- • Improvement in public confidence and feelings of safety.
- • Reduction in repeat anti-social behaviour incidents.
- • Evidence of consistent neighbourhood officer visibility.
Measurement supports accountability. By creating a national standard, the government can identify which forces are successfully rebuilding community trust and which are falling behind. This data-driven oversight is a key pillar of the structural reforms, designed to end the "postcode lottery."
Importantly, the framework will also track abstraction rates. One of the primary failings of previous neighbourhood models was that officers were frequently removed from their community duties to cover response or events. The new framework aims to make this "hidden cost" visible, providing an incentive for commanders to protect neighbourhood capacity.
What This Means for the Frontline
Neighbourhood Roles
- • Increased role security and protection from daily abstraction.
- • Greater emphasis on long-term problem-solving and ASB reduction.
- • Integrated support from the National Police Service (NPS) for tools and data.
Response & Specialist Roles
- • Potentially reduced call-handling burden as neighbourhood teams solve repeat issues.
- • Clearer operational boundaries between community work and emergency response.
- • No changes to pay, pensions, or national terms and conditions.
Note: The guarantee focuses on structural allocation and operational priorities. It does NOT change individual officer pay or terms.
Clarifying the Limits
No Pay Change
Does not alter police remuneration or pensions.
No Local Loss
Forces maintain flexibility in how they deploy locally.
No Uniformity
Staffing levels will vary based on community socio-demographics.
No Magic Wand
Resourcing pressures will still exist during the phased roll-out.
Remaining Questions
Exact Metrics
The specific KPIs for "visibility" and "accessibility" are still being finalised with the NPS.
Performance Thresholds
The "trigger points" for central intervention in underperforming areas are undecided.
Local Models
Precisely how each force structures its LPAs to meet the guarantee will vary.
Officer FAQs
Neutral answers based on White Paper policy content.
Q: Will this affect my posting?
A: Unless you apply for or are moved into a designated neighbourhood role, your current posting remains unchanged. Delivery is focused on new capacity and structural protection.
Q: Will response lose officers?
A: The 13,000 commitment is intended to be 'additional.' The goal is to grow neighbourhood capacity without degrading response times, using the overall budget uplift.
Q: Will this change shift patterns?
A: There is no national mandate for shift pattern changes within the guarantee. Local commanders maintain control over team rotas to meet the standards.
Q: When will it start?
A: Phased implementation is expected to begin in late 2026, following primary legislation and the publication of the first Performance Framework indices.
Q: Is this just 'rebranding' the Uplift?
A: Unlike the previous recruitment-only focus, this guarantee includes mandated service standards and structural protection against being abstracted to other roles.
Q: What happens if a force fails to meet the guarantee?
A: The Performance Framework will flag failures to the Home Office and the NPS. Persistent failure may lead to directed recovery plans or structural interventions.