Latest Information on Neighbourhood Policing

As of early 2026, the UK government is implementing the "Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee," a major initiative to restore visible, local policing. Key changes include recruiting 13,000 additional officers and PCSOs for neighbourhood roles, mandatory named, contactable officers for every community, and increased, intelligence-led patrols in town centres and crime hotspots.

The following is a letter giving the latest update to the policy:

19th February 2025

Dear Parish Council,

I am writing to inform you of an important decision regarding the future of neighbourhood policing in Cheshire.

As you are aware from previous correspondence, in November we launched a collective consultation process to
reduce the number of PCSO posts from 87 to 27.

Since then, we have been working with the Police and Crime Commissioner Dan Price to explore all financial options
available on these proposals.

As a result of this work, additional funding has been secured by the Police and Crime Commissioner following
feedback from residents, Unison and local councillors and MPs.

This means that we will now be able to keep a total of 57 PCSO posts for the upcoming financial year and will
therefore be reducing the number of PCSO posts by 30.

We fully recognise the valuable contribution that PCSO's make to our communities, However, the ongoing financial
pressures facing the force, combined with the changing nature of crime and public expectations, mean that we must
adapt our workforce model to ensure we remain fit for the future.

Reducing the number of PCSOs is essential to future-proofing the force, enabling us to balance our budget
while maintaining our commitment to neighbourhood policing.

These changes will allow us to redeploy warranted police officers into local policing teams in place of those posts,
ensuring we have the right resources and powers in place to tackle the issues that matter most to our communities.

As previously promised, once we have finalised the proposed changes to the new model your Local Policing Unit
Chief Inspector will be in contact with you to provide further details and answer any questions you may have.

Yours sincerely,

Alison Ross

Assistant Chief Constable
Neighbourhood Policing
Cheshire Constabulary

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