Building Britain's Future

The Government is committed to building strong communities where police and locals work together to cut crime and stand up for the hard-working and law-abiding majority – this is an important part of Building Britain’s Future.

There are now 16,000 more police officers and around 3,600 neighbourhood policing teams across the country. While these have significantly improved the safety and security of communities, local police forces need to be responding to the issues that matter most to you. And offenders must realise that there are tough consequences for committing crimes.

We’re making this happen through a programme called Justice Seen, Justice Done, which includes all kinds of community initiatives.

Every police force has signed up to the Policing Pledge. This means your force has promised to listen to your concerns, act on these concerns, and then keep you informed of progress. Each community agrees its own local priorities, so if the police aren’t delivering on their promises, you can ask why not. To find out what you can expect from the police, and what part you can play, visit Policing Pledge [External website].

In England and Wales, Community Cashback gives people a say in how £4 million of recovered criminal assets should be spent in their communities. You can vote for projects or suggest your own at Community Cashback [External website].

People can suggest ways of punishing offenders so that they are paying back their local communities. To have your say, go to Community Payback [External website].

We’re also running a scheme for 3,600 experienced local volunteers, or crime fighters, giving them the skills and training to work with police and local authorities to make their areas safer. And in December 2009, we’ll announce the Community Crime Fighter Awards. Find out more at Community Crime Fighters [External website].