City reporter
Under new reforms, response officers will be expected to reach the scene of the most serious incidents within 15 minutes in cities and 20 minutes in rural areas, and forces will be expected to answer 999 phone calls within 10 seconds.
These new targets will ensure that all forces provide the same level of police response to crimes. Currently, data on response times is collected differently across forces, and police are not held accountable if targets are not met. Reforming the system will create more transparency and consistency across the country. Where forces fail to deliver, the Home Secretary will send in experts from the best performing forces to improve their performance, including when unmet response‑time targets are part of broader systemic failing.
To fight everyday crime, the government will ramp up its pledge to restore visible neighbourhood policing and patrols in communities through an extension of its Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee. This has already placed named, contactable officers in each neighbourhood. Under the extension, every council ward in England and Wales will have its own named, contactable officers, create more local points of contact and give officers a deeper understanding of the issues in their area.
Police forces will also recruit the brightest and best from universities in a new recruitment drive to cut crime and catch more criminals. Modelled on Teach First, the government is investing up to £7 million to attract top students from universities into specially trained graduate neighbourhood police officer roles in England and Wales. Retailers across the country will see a major crackdown on organised crime gangs thanks to £7 million in new government investment aimed at dismantling criminal networks from the ground up.
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