An extra 309 neighbourhood officers on the beat
Extra community officers - but commissioner says West Midlands is still being ‘ripped off’ by government
The West Midlands is to get more than 300 extra neighbourhood police officers as part of a drive to get more bobbies out onto the beat.
Police and crime commissioner Simon Foster said people would see a noticeably more visible police presence as a result of the shake-up, which will see a 49 per cent year-on-year increase in the number of neighbourhood officers.
But as he made the announcement in Walsall today (Wednesday), Mr Foster warned that the area was being ‘ripped off’ and getting a ‘raw deal’ from government, saying the force was still 529 officers short compared to 2010.
Mr Foster said he had secured an extra £12.2 million from government, enabling the recruitment of 150 new officers and 20 community support officers. On top of that, 139 existing officers had been redeployed from elsewhere in the force.
He said that by increasing neighbourhood officer numbers by 49 per cent, West Midlands Police had achieved the largest increase in neighbourhood policing in the country.
It is not yet known how these officers will be distributed between the different policing areas of the West Midlands.
Mr Foster said that by ensuring that the Neighbourhood Policing Grant had been used to achieve the highest percentage increase in officer numbers of any force, he had made the best possible use of that grant.
To ensure the officers had the maximum impact, Mr Foster said he was also equipping neighbourhood teams with new vehicles, advanced kit and the latest body-worn video cameras to prevent and tackle crime effectively.
But he said while the extra officers were welcome, the force area was still getting a poor deal compared to the rest of the country.
“West Midlands is definitely getting a raw deal when it comes to the allocation of police officers and police funding,” he said.
“In the West Midlands we are ripped off and short-changed when it comes to the allocation of police forces and police funding. We are one of the few forces in the country that have still has fewer police officers than we had in 2010, while in many instances other forces have more officers than they have ever had in their history.
“In addition we have an outdated, unfair and unfit-for-purpose funding formula that means we lose out to the tune of £43 million every year.”
“Rebuilding community policing is, and always will be, my top priority. I am pleased to announce that we have allocated 309 extra officers and PCSOs straight into our local neighbourhoods, backed by brand-new vehicles, cutting-edge kit, and body-worn cameras.
“This is about putting neighbourhood police officers out on the streets, which is exactly where they need to be. By strengthening our frontline, we have now achieved a near 49% increase in neighbourhood officer numbers since 2025.
“It is no coincidence that during this time neighbourhood crime rates have fallen. West Midlands is an efficient force at translating additional resources into action, and I can only imagine what they would achieve if we had the additional 520 officers that we are still down on when compared with 2010.
“I implore the Government to confirm that this funding will be available in the future so that we do not see this improvement drift away as the vehicles age, and government should do what should have been done in 2015 and reform the unfair and unfit for purpose funding formula to ensure fair funding for West Midlands Police.
“My commitment is, and always will be, to do everything within my power to ensure accessible, reassuring and visible policing, to prevent and tackle crime and keep people, families, businesses and communities safe and secure across the West Midlands.”
Inspector Lee Wiggan, of Walsall police, said: “You should be seeing a greater visibility within the streets, a greater ability to have community meetings, and a greater ability to respond to some of those long-standing problems that the community are telling us are the issues.”
Mr Wiggan said that while serious crimes would always take priority, the majority of people were not exposed to such activities and it was often the lower level offences that caused the biggest number of complaints.
Mr Wiggan, who began his career as a beat officer in Walsall town centre, said while the town had changed a lot, people’s concerns were still remarkably similar.
“I don’t think what people are concerned with these days is much different to 25 or 30 years ago,” he said.
“As a senior officer, I can can say our priority is vehicle crime, tackling burglary, or domestic abuse, but most members of the public won’t experience that type of crime personally, what they’re more concerned about is things like off-road bikes going around their community, anti-social behaviour, so it’s important that within our team we also track the priorities from the local community within our community meetings.”
He said the officers would be stationed at locations across the borough, including council offices and fire stations, to make them easily accessible to the public.