WALES will see a significant boost to the number of neighbourhood police officers on its streets, as the UK government is set to invest a record £18.4 billion to cut crime and catch criminals.

Each police force across the country is set to receive a real-terms increase in funding next year, including up to £170.9 million for Dyfed-Powys Police, a cash increase of 4.5 per cent.

In April last year, the government pledged to put 3,000 officers into neighbourhood roles within 12 months to drive down crime and anti-social behaviour that is blighting town centres and residential areas.

The government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee will put an additional 13,000 neighbourhood policing personnel into roles by the end of this parliament.

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.”

On January 26, the Home Secretary announced the largest reforms to policing since the police service was founded two centuries ago.

A £119 million investment in 2026-27 will kickstart these reforms, including the creation of a new national centre for AI in policing, rolling out live facial recognition across the country, and boosting data capabilities across the policing system.

Since 2023, police chiefs have been forced to maintain arbitrary officer head counts each year via the Officer Maintenance Grant. The government says this has led to forces hiring uniformed officers and then, in some cases, putting them in back-office roles instead of out in communities.

The government will end the Officer Maintenance Grant, replacing it with a new Neighbourhood Policing Ringfence, which they claim will mark a significant shift to put more officers in communities and high streets to fight crime and catch criminals.