Wales is set to see a major increase in neighbourhood police officers, backed by record levels of government funding aimed at tackling crime and improving community safety.
Under new funding plans, police forces across Wales will benefit from a share of a £18.4 billion investment across England and Wales — the highest level of police funding ever announced. Every force will receive a real-terms increase next year, with the Welsh forces receiving hundreds of millions of pounds collectively.
The funding allocations include:
- Dyfed-Powys Police: up to £170.9 million, a 4.5% cash increase
- Gwent Police: up to £205.2 million, a 4.2% cash increase
- North Wales Police: up to £235.8 million, a 4.3% cash increase
- South Wales Police: up to £458.9 million, a 3.9% cash increase
Across England and Wales, police forces will receive £796 million more than last year — a 2.3% real-terms rise — with a clear focus on getting officers back on the streets and into neighbourhood roles.
A key part of the package is an additional £50 million to support the government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, which aims to place 13,000 neighbourhood policing personnel into frontline roles by the end of this Parliament.
Progress is already underway. Nearly 2,400 extra neighbourhood officers were deployed in the six months to the end of September 2025 — a 14% increase since March — following a pledge to recruit 3,000 neighbourhood officers within a year to combat crime and anti-social behaviour in town centres and residential areas.
From April, the government will also scrap the long-criticised Officer Maintenance Grant, replacing it with a new Neighbourhood Policing Ringfence. The move is designed to ensure police forces prioritise neighbourhood policing without being tied to rigid headcount targets that have previously pushed officers into desk-based roles.
Home Secretary, Shabana Mahmood, said: “Since taking office, this government has increased police funding by nearly £2 billion.
We are restoring neighbourhood policing, with nearly 2,400 more neighbourhood officers in our communities.
And we are now reforming policing, so local forces protect their communities, and national policing protects us all”.
Secretary of State for Wales Jo Stevens said: “People in every part of Wales deserve to feel safe in their communities and have confidence in the police to tackle crime and antisocial behaviour that blights lives.
The UK Government is delivering a record levels of funding to help police forces put yet more officers on the streets, boosting the number of neighbourhood police officers even further”.
The government argues that the changes are necessary after years in which police forces were required to maintain officer numbers under the Officer Maintenance Grant, even if those officers were assigned to back-office roles. Over the past six years, the number of trained officers in support roles has risen by more than 40% to over 12,600, while total officer numbers increased by only around 20%.
By replacing the grant with a neighbourhood policing ringfence, forces will have greater flexibility to build workforces that reflect local needs — while ensuring more officers are visible in communities and high streets.
The funding announcement comes alongside wider reforms to policing. Earlier this week, the Home Secretary unveiled the biggest overhaul of policing in two centuries, backed by a £119 million investment in 2026–27. Plans include the creation of a national centre for artificial intelligence in policing, the expansion of live facial recognition, and improved data systems across police forces.
Together, ministers say the changes will modernise policing while restoring a visible neighbourhood presence — a shift aimed at cutting crime and rebuilding trust in communities across Wales.
Photo by Nigel Davies, Wikimedia commons.