Neighbourhood policing: the impact of piloting and early national implementation - RDS OLR 01/08
Main Report
Appendices

The implementation of neighbourhood policing (NP) is a significant undertaking for the Government, police service and their partners. NP was initially piloted at a ward level as part of the National Reassurance Policing Programme (NRPP) between October 2003 and March 2005. Following the success of this pilot, the three-year Neighbourhood Policing Programme (NPP) was officially launched in April 2005, and has sought to deliver on the Government’s commitment for every neighbourhood in England and Wales to have an NP team by 2008.

This report summarises four studies that develop the evidence base on NP. The NRPP evaluation and follow-up study examine the short and longer-term efficacy of NP when piloted at ward level under controlled conditions. The Basic Command Unit (BCU) evaluation and national evaluation examine whether the NPP delivered any improvements during its first year.

The research found that during its first year the NRPP had a significant positive impact on a wide range of outcome measures (including increased public confidence in the police and reductions in victimisation). These were largely sustained for a second year and, in some cases, further improvements were made. Findings from the BCU evaluation and force-level national evaluation were inconclusive in terms of impact: although there were some positive changes in selected outcome measures, these were not statistically significant. However, because of the size and nature of the NP programme, there was no expectation that NP would deliver widespread improvements in its first year. The results provide clear messages about what needs to be done to implement NP effectively, to maximise the likelihood of positive changes being observed in the future.