The UK Government has announced a record increase in funding for policing across Wales, aimed at boosting neighbourhood policing and improving community safety from April 2026. The funding settlement will see forces in Wales receive real-terms increases in their budgets as part of a wider £18.4 billion national police funding package, an uplift of £796 million compared with the previous year. This investment is intended to support efforts to cut crime and expand visible policing on local streets.
Under the settlement, each of the four Welsh territorial police forces will receive increased cash allocations: Dyfed-Powys Police will get up to £170.9 million (a 4.5 percent rise); Gwent Police up to £205.2 million (4.2 percent); North Wales Police up to £235.8 million (4.3 percent); and South Wales Police up to £458.9 million (3.9 percent). These increases are part of the overall uplift in funding for 2026-27.
The Government is creating a new Neighbourhood Policing Ringfence to ensure that additional officers are placed in frontline roles rather than administrative positions. This replaces the previous Officer Maintenance Grant, which the Government says led to officers being deployed to back-office functions. The ringfence is designed to guarantee delivery of neighbourhood policing targets.
In addition to the funding settlement, the Government is investing an extra £50 million towards the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, which aims to place an additional 13,000 neighbourhood policing personnel into roles by the end of this Parliament. Since April 2025, nearly 2,400 extra neighbourhood officers have been recruited, representing a 14 percent increase in local policing officers in six months.
Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the increase reflects the Government’s commitment to restoring neighbourhood policing and reforming police services, while the Secretary of State for Wales, Jo Stevens, emphasised the importance of stronger local policing for community safety.
