In this third and final part of the PolicingTV series, Deputy Chief Constable Catherine Akehurst looks ahead to the future of neighbourhood policing and explains how the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee may fit into wider police reform across England and Wales. She outlines the programme’s six pillars, including community-led policing, visibility, professional standards, performance measures, safer town centres and increased volunteering.
The conversation also explores one of the biggest challenges facing reform: how to create greater consistency without losing local flexibility. Catherine discusses the importance of local partnerships, antisocial behaviour work, organisational memory and maintaining strong links between national policing structures and frontline neighbourhood delivery. Her central message is that whatever changes, the public still need to know who their local officers are, that someone will come when they call, and that they will receive a fair and effective service.
Key takeaways
- The Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee is built around six pillars and is due to run until 2029.
- The programme includes plans for 13,000 additional neighbourhood officers, staff and volunteers.
- Community-led policing, visibility and local engagement remain central to the guarantee.
- Catherine says consistency does not mean every force must deliver neighbourhood policing in exactly the same way.
- Localism could create new opportunities for policing to work more closely with councils, health and other partners.
- Antisocial behaviour is a key example of an area that depends heavily on strong local partnerships.
- Any future national policing structure must remain connected to local operational delivery and community priorities.
- Catherine says the public ultimately want visible officers, effective response and investigations, and to be treated fairly.
Chapters
00:24 – The future of neighbourhood policing
01:36 – The six pillars of the policing guarantee
03:41 – How police reform could affect local policing
07:20 – Tackling antisocial behaviour together
08:08 – Does consistency mean every force is the same?
09:03 – What happens if police forces become larger?
11:25 – Why national policing must stay connected locally
12:32 – What the public ultimately expects
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