Government figures show an increase of around 28 neighbourhood policing roles in Bedfordshire.
A spokesperson for the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner (OPCC) said additional neighbourhood officers have been funded using Government Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee funding.
The increase broadly matches a commitment made when the police precept for 2025/26 was raised, which stated that there would be 20 additional police officers and eight Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) “on the beat”.
The OPCC spokesperson said: “Last year, in 2025/26, under the government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, an additional 20 police officers and eight PCSOs joined the community policing teams.
“In 2026/27, an additional 16 officers will be deployed to community policing.”
They added that the additional officers and PCSOs are now “in post in local community teams” and that Bedfordshire Police is fully compliant with the Home Office’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee.
However, it did not confirm how many of those roles represent new recruits rather than existing officers moved into neighbourhood policing.
The response also did not address questions about whether residents are seeing the “named officers” and increased visibility in neighbourhood policing set out in the PCC’s manifesto and Police and Crime Plan.
Those documents state that restoring community policing is about more than officer numbers, focusing instead on visible, locally based teams and stronger engagement with communities.
The spokesperson added that Bedfordshire Police has an establishment of 1,486 officers and highlighted improvements in crime outcomes, reductions in antisocial behaviour following joint operations with local authorities, and increased investment in technology and prevention.
However, the OPCC did not provide evidence in response to questions about the impact of the increase in neighbourhood policing roles on visible policing in local communities.
By John Guinn
Local Democracy Reporter
