Question to the Home Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to his statement of 31 October 2018 to the APCC and NPCC joint summit that there needs to be more of an emphasis on crime prevention, what research his Department holds on the effect of a reduction in police resources on the levels of proactive policing.

As we made clear in our Modern Crime Prevention Strategy, there are many factors that drive crime, and so preventing crime is the responsibility of many institutions, not just the police.

This Government has provided a strong and comprehensive settlement that is increasing total investment in the police system by over £460m in 2018-19, of which more than £280m from increased council tax precept will go direct to forces to spend locally. It is for operationally independent Chief Constables to decide how best to deploy officers in their force area.

HMICFRS’s 2017 PEEL: Effectiveness inspection graded 34 forces as good at preventing crime and anti-social behaviour, four more than in 2016. Some forces had changed their approach to neighbourhood policing to ensure sufficient officers and PCSOs dedicated to preventative and community focused activity. A Police Foundation (2017) study of changes to neighbourhood policing found that forces have pursued a variety of strategies in relation to organising neighbourhood teams.