Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps she is taking to increase police visibility and trust in local communities.

The Government is delivering on the people’s priorities by recruiting an additional 20,000 police officers and putting violent criminals behind bars for longer.

To the end of September this year, Police forces in England and Wales have recruited an additional 11,053 police officers as part of the police uplift programme, 55% of the 20,000-recruitment target by 2023.

Whilst decisions about the deployment of officers are a matter for Police and Crime Commissioners and Chief Constables, these decisions are expected to be informed by local need.

The Beating Crime Plan published on 27 July laid out the Government’s plan for tackling crime and its commitment to reconnect the police with the public. It can be found at:

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1015382/Crime-plan-v10.pdf

The police's ability to fulfil their duties is dependent on their capacity to secure and maintain public trust and support for their actions, as part of the model of policing by consent. That is why the Government will also be looking carefully at strengthening the system of local community scrutiny and the value and use of body-worn video.