If we are to succeed in levelling up this country, we must give everyone the security and confidence that comes from having a safe street and a safe home. That is why the Government has introduced our Beating Crime Plan, which builds on our achievements of the past two years – more police, more resources, and tougher sentences – to provide our law enforcement with everything they need to prevent, deter, and crack down on crime.

Our plan will give the law-abiding majority the respect and support they need should they fall victim to a crime, whilst cracking down on those who persist in breaking the law.

We are doing this by:

Introducing our Beating Crime Plan, delivering the most comprehensive and far-reaching strategy of its kind yet. This plan is our blueprint for cutting crime and increasing confidence in our justice system. By combining prevention, deterrence, and enforcement, it will put victims first and support the dedicated and hardworking men and women from across our criminal justice system who keep us safe.

Reconnecting the police with the public:

• Providing every person in England and Wales with access to the contact details of neighbourhood police officers, ensuring the public know that local help is always available.
• Allowing the public to access a range of police services in one online platform, making our forces more accessible than ever.
• Developing a league table of 999 and 101 calls, letting the public know how responsive their local force is when they call them for help.

• Asking the police to regularly report on how police officers are being deployed and the results they are achieving, giving the public confidence that their local police are performing.
• Working with CrimeStoppers and Neighbourhood Watch, raising awareness of hidden harms in our communities.

Intervening early to prevent crime from occurring:

• Investing £17 million in youth interventions, providing high-intensity specialist support to young people to stop them from entering a life of crime.
• Investing £45 million in our schools-based Support, Attain, Fulfil, Exceed and Alternative Provision taskforces, providing vulnerable young people with support to make the right decisions.
• Expanding our use of electronic monitoring for serious offenders and tracking the movements of criminals upon release from prison, supporting our police in deterring and detecting further crimes.
• Trialling the use of alcohol tags in offenders guilty of drink-fuelled crime, helping to reduce violence and other alcohol-related crime.
• Introducing Knife Crime Prevention Orders, prohibiting those most at risk from carrying knives.
• Holding annual Homicide Summits, attended by the Chief Constables of police forces with the highest homicide rates, creating solutions to the biggest issues in cutting murder rates.

Giving the police what they need to fight crime by:

• Relaxing voluntary conditions on Section 60 stop and search powers, reducing the number of weapons on our streets.
• Commencing provisions in the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 to ban a range of knives and firearms, making it harder for criminals to access dangerous weapons.
• Establishing a multi-agency response to anti-social behaviour, combining resources to better prevent anti-social behaviour.
• Expanding the role of Police and Crime Commissioners, allowing them to use their local expertise to cut crime.
• Expanding the Acquisitive Crime GPS tagging project, providing us with data to monitor patterns of crime.

Building our capability to deal with fraud, cyber and online crime:

• Continuing to shut down scams and fraudulent websites, making it harder for fraudsters to target the UK.
• Replacing Action Fraud with an improved national fraud and cybercrime reporting system, improving our understanding of how fraudsters are operating.
• Publishing a new National Cyber Security Strategy, increasing our response to cybercrime and driving collaborations with the National Cyber Security Centre and National Cyber Force.
• Working with the tech, financial, telecoms and accountancy sectors, restricting the opportunities that fraudsters seek to exploit.

Extra measures to keep prison leavers off the streets and stop further crimes

The Government has also set out extra measures to tackle the drivers of crime, building on our Beating Crime Plan.

Our Beating Crime Plan sets out measures to cut crime and hold criminals accountable, but it is only right that we support offenders who wish to turn their back on crime and lead productive lives. That is why the Government has launched a scheme to break the cycle of reoffending, by providing temporary, basic accommodation to keep prison leavers off the streets, recruiting 1,000 ex-offenders into the Civil Service by 2023, and investing £80 million in drug rehabilitation.

The Government is spending £750 million to tackle rough sleeping this year and this new funding for councils will pay for a range of initiatives specifically tailored to help prison leavers move away from crime, drugs, and living on the streets and into private rented accommodation. This includes landlord incentives and loans for rent deposits, specialised insurance and dedicated staff working with prison leavers to maintain their tenancy long-term.

The Government also yesterday committed to publishing a Drugs Strategy later this year to crack down on recreational drug use. This includes appointing Dame Carol Black as an ongoing adviser on drug misuse and investing an extra £31m to expand Project ADDER – which combines tough law enforcement with increased provision of treatment and recovery services. This support will be targeted towards a further eight local authorities hardest hit by drugs.

These measures will break the cycle of reoffending, drive down crime, and save thousands of law-abiding people from becoming victims.

For any more information on the Government’s extra measures to keep prison leavers off the streets and stop further crimes, including comments from the Lord Chancellor and the Housing Secretary, please visit: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-sets-out-ambitious-plan-to-tackle-drivers-of-crime.

200 Extra Police Officers Recruited in Essex

• Newly released figures show that 200 police officers have been recruited in Essex as part of the Conservative Government’s pledge to put 20,000 more officers on the streets by 2023.
• Across England and Wales, 9,814 police officers have been recruited since the recruitment drive was launched in September 2019 – putting the Government almost halfway to delivering on its manifesto promise.
• The additional police for Essex builds on the newly announced Beating Crime Plan – aimed at reducing crime, protecting victims and making the country safer. 

Rebecca Harris MP has welcomed the announcement that 200 police officers have been recruited in Essex since September 2019, bringing the total number of officers up to 3,516. The latest figures are part of the Conservative Government’s drive to get 20,000 more police officers on the street by 2023.

In total, an extra 9,814 police officers have been recruited across all 43 police forces in England and Wales, bringing the total number of police officers in England and Wales up to 138,574 – where they are already having an impact in tackling crime and keeping communities safe.

The recruitment drive is also helping to make police more representative of the communities they serve. More than 6,000 female officers have been recruited since April 2020, making up more than four in ten of all new recruits.

There are also more black, Asian and other ethnic minorities employed as officers across forces than at any other time in the country’s history, making up over one in ten of the new recruits.

The latest figures follow the launch of the Conservative Government’s Beating Crime Plan – aimed at reducing crime, protecting victims and making the country safer. 

The plan includes ensuring each neighbourhood has named, contactable police officers, who know their area and are best placed to ensure that persistent crime and anti-social behaviour is tackled - a pledge made more possible by the increase in police numbers.

This builds on the action taken by the Conservative Government since Boris Johnson became Prime Minister two years ago – including boosting police funding to a record £15.8 billion, passing the Police Crime Sentencing and Courts Bill through the House of Commons, and delivering £45 million through the Safer Streets Fund to make neighbourhoods secure. 

Commenting, Rebecca Harris MP said:

“At the last general election I stood on a manifesto that committed to putting 20,000 more police officers onto our streets – and these figures show how the Conservatives are delivering on that promise.

“The 200 extra police officers for Essex will help to cut crime, keep neighbours secure, and reassure the law abiding majority that they are safe.

“These officers – alongside the new Crime Beating Plan – shows how I and the Conservative Government are delivering on the people’s priorities here in Castle Point.”

Commenting, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said:

“I am delighted we are already almost half-way there in delivering our commitment of 20,000 more police officers to fight crime by 2023.

“These figures aren’t just numbers. It means that thousands more police are out in communities protecting people, making our streets safer and supporting victims through some of the most difficult experiences of their lives.”

Home Secretary Priti Patel said:

“It is fantastic that we are well on track to meet our target of recruiting 20,000 extra police officers by 2023. These 9,814 officers are already making a difference in neighbourhoods up and down the country, bearing down on criminals and keeping people safe.

“This increase in police numbers and the Beating Crime Plan we launched yesterday show the Government’s determination to back the police, give them the powers they need to take away knives, shut down drug gangs and protect communities and vulnerable people from harm.”