- Police forces across England & Wales will receive up to £19.5 billion next year, up £798 million on last year
- Funding to help tackle crime and drive out antisocial behaviour from town centres, as well as an increase for Counter Terrorism Policing
- Settlement comes ahead of landmark white paper to modernise policing as part of the Plan for Change
- Funding to Hampshire and Isle of Wight e Constabulary will be over £514 million in 2026/2027
The public will be better protected from crime as police forces across England and Wales are set to receive a funding boost of up to £798 million in the next financial year, Ministers recently announced.
This additional money brings total funding up to £19.5 billion, which equals a 4.3 per cent cash increase and a 2 per cent real terms increase. The majority of this funding is for local forces, with an additional £746 million allowing them to prioritise the crimes impacting their communities, including knife crime, antisocial behaviour and shop theft.
The Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary, which is responsible for Portsmouth’s policing, is set to receive a £20.5 million increase in funding from the previous year in 2026/27. This will bring the total funding available for police forces within the region to £514.1 million.
The funding helps build on this Government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee to put named, contactable officers in every community, increase peak time patrols in town centres and antisocial behaviour leads in every force.
Additionally, funding for Counter Terrorism Policing will increase by at least £52 million, ensuring it has the resources it needs to deal with the threats we face and protect the public. This will bring its total funding to up to more than £1.2 billion.
Commenting, Stephen Morgan, MP for Portsmouth South, said:
“Ensuring that people in our city always feel safe and are always protected against crime has long been a top priority of mine as MP.
“I am reassured by this Government’s announcement, as this funding boost will help to keep Portsmouth’s streets safe into the future”.
Crime and Policing Minister, Sarah Jones, said:
“We are providing police forces with a significant increase in funding that will allow them to step up their efforts in tackling the crimes that are blighting our communities, including knife crime and antisocial behaviour.
“But we know that funding alone will not deliver our ambitions. Police leaders have been crying out for reform, and our upcoming white paper will deliver this to free up officer time and get bobbies back on our streets.”
A final settlement providing more detail on grant allocations, will be released early next year once the Government’s Police Reform White Paper has been published. This will set out landmark reforms to bring policing into the modern age with the technology, innovation and structures forces need to fight crime and protect communities.
This funding increase follows a year in which knife homicides fell by almost 20 per cent in the 12 months to June 2025. Knife crime overall fell for the first time in four years, dropping by 5 per cent over the same period.
In addition, the Government’s Winter of Action – a nationwide crackdown on crime and anti-social behaviour – builds on its Safer Streets Summer initiative, which covered nearly 650 town centres and led to over 16,000 arrests and fines, primarily for shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.
