PCC welcomes the recruitment of new officers to boost local policing

Derbyshire Police and Crime Commissioner Nicolle Ndiweni-Roberts has welcomed new funding to recruit an extra 35 neighbourhood police officers across the force over the next 12 months.

The Home Office has confirmed Derbyshire will receive £2.8m from a £200m national pot in 2025-26 as part of the Government’s Plan for Change commitment to transform neighbourhood policing.  

The new officers will be placed into frontline neighbourhood policing roles and will be recruited as soon as possible although they will not be deployed until later in the year due to initial training. 

Further recruitment tranches will be unveiled by the Government at a later date. 

Welcoming the uplift, Nicolle Ndiweni-Roberts said: “This is good news for everyone living and working in Derbyshire.  It will see the deployment of even more officers tackling problems on the streets and a visible deterrent to those seeking to harm community life as well as providing accessible support to the public. 

“Neighbourhood policing is the backbone of British policing; residents undoubtedly feel reassured and safer when they can see officers out on their streets, proactively solving the issues that bring them misery and ruin their quality of life.

“Derbyshire is my home, and it matters to me that our people and businesses flourish and feel safe.  

“I will be working with the Chief Constable and ACC Michelle Shooter who is responsible for local policing in Derbyshire and the national NPCC portfolio holder for neighbourhood policing to ensure these extra resources are deployed to where they can and will make the biggest difference to public safety.”

The PCC recently unveiled her first Police and Crime Plan following an unprecedented engagement programme that sought to ensure local people remain at the heart of her ambitions for improvement.  

The Plan contains six key pillars of focus as determined by residents: serious violence including violence against women and girls, anti-social behaviour and community safety, neighbourhood policing, bringing offenders to justice, drugs and substance misuse and supporting victims and safeguarding. 

Nicolle Ndiweni-Roberts said: “These issues require a strong and robust response, and this can only be achieved with investment. The arrival of extra officers in our communities, alongside a budget designed to further our capabilities, will help us to protect our communities more effectively and prevent crime happening in the first place.”

Nationally, forces across England and Wales will benefit from a £200m boost funding recruitment into their neighbourhood policing teams - £100m more than first pledged. This will fund an extra 13,000 police officers nationally and a renewed focus on preventing the crimes that plague towns, cities and rural areas of the country.

One of the government’s key pledges within its Plan for Change is that every neighbourhood will have a named, contactable officer, helping to restore the local knowledge and presence that effective neighbourhood policing demands.