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Labour PartyPolice, courts, prisons

Thousands of new neighbourhood police officers

“Labour will introduce a new Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, restoring patrols to our town centres by recruiting thousands of new police officers, police and community support officers, and special constables.”

Delivering2024 manifesto, page 64, 13 Jun 2024
  5. Delivering

Where it stands

The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee started in April 2025 with a £200m grant. Official statistics show 3,814 more full-time-equivalent officers and PCSOs in neighbourhood roles at 31 March 2026 than a year earlier. Over the same year the total number of police officers fell by 566 FTE, PCSOs by 55 FTE and special constables by 324 (headcount); the neighbourhood measure counts officers and PCSOs, including those in training, but not special constables (Home Office, Police workforce, 31 March 2026). The manifesto text says "thousands"; its costings (page 129) and the government's milestone put the number at 13,000. The manifesto gives no date; the government's milestone is this Parliament, taken as by 1 July 2029.

What has happened

  1. Jun 2024Labour manifesto pledges a Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee with thousands of new officers, PCSOs and specials, Promised
  2. Oct 2024Autumn Budget 2024 says the police settlement puts the government on track to start delivering 13,000 more neighbourhood officers and PCSOs, In plan evidence
  3. Dec 2024Plan for Change milestone: 13,000 additional officers, PCSOs and special constables in neighbourhood roles in England and Wales, In plan evidence
  4. Apr 2025A £200m Neighbourhood Policing Grant is introduced for 2025-26, Funded evidence
  5. Apr 2025Government says 3,000 more neighbourhood officers and PCSOs will be in post within 12 months, and 13,000 by 2029, In plan evidence
  6. Jun 2025Spending Review 2025 raises police spending power by an average 2.3% a year in real terms from 2023-24 to 2028-29, citing the 13,000 commitment, Funded evidence
  7. Jul 2026Official statistics: 20,989 full-time-equivalent officers and PCSOs in neighbourhood roles at 31 March 2026, up 3,814 on the 31 March 2025 baseline, Delivering evidence
  8. Jul 2029End of the Parliament (editorial date), Deadline

About the cost

Year used: the year of highest cost, as Labour's costings give one annualised figure. Labour re-allocates £400m a year from a Police Efficiency and Collaboration Programme to "13,000 additional neighbourhood police and community PCSOs; and specialist domestic abuse advisers in 999 control rooms at peak times" (manifesto page 129); central figure only. No independent costing was found. The first-year Neighbourhood Policing Grant in 2025-26 was £200m (Home Office police funding statistics). Low–high is an editorial ±10% because the source gives a central figure only.

More detail

Sources (6)
Corrections (1): what we fixed, in public
  1. Corrected on 6 Oct 2026: Wording of the “Funded” entryThe entry left out the period the average covers. The Spending Review gives 2.3% a year in real terms from 2023-24 to 2028-29.Was: “Spending Review 2025 raises police spending power by an average 2.3% a year in real terms, citing the 13,000 commitment”Now: “Spending Review 2025 raises police spending power by an average 2.3% a year in real terms from 2023-24 to 2028-29, citing the 13,000 commitment”Source for the correction
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