Why it matters: Westminster says the Winter of Action campaign will mean more visible patrols, faster enforcement and closer work with local councils and businesses to better protect high streets across the country, including Ipswich.
The big picture: The government says the initiative builds on its Safer Streets summer crackdown, which delivered over 16,000 arrests and fines in nearly 650 town centres and saw anti-social behaviour fall in town centres.
This winter, police will also roll out new hyperlocal HEX zones that target small areas most affected by knife crime. HEX zones are special zones known as HEX due to their hexagon-like shape, roughly the size of 10 football pitches and identified using police intelligence and local data to focus resources where they matter most.
Pilots are already under way in major cities including Birmingham, Leeds, Liverpool, Manchester, Bristol, Peterborough and London.
What's next: By spring, the government has committed to delivering 3,000 more neighbourhood police officers, stronger powers to tackle shop theft and anti-social behaviour and a new offence for assaulting retail workers.
What they're saying: Labour's Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood said: "Shoplifting and anti-social behaviour are tearing at the fabric of our communities. This winter we are launching a crime-fighting blitz with police patrolling our high streets across the country. This is part of our wider plans to fight crime with 3,000 more police on the beat by the spring to catch criminals and make our communities safe."
Ipswich MP Jack Abbott said: "While we have made good progress in tackling crime in Ipswich over the past 18 months, I know there is still a lot of work to do. The Winter of Action is the sign of a Government getting a grip on the situation, ending years of warm words but little action. It will mean more patrols, quicker action against offenders and real support for local shops will make a big difference here."
He added: "Everyone should feel safe when they shop or go out, and I am proud to back a Government that is ending years of neglect and putting towns like Ipswich first."
For context: The Winter of Action sits at the heart of Labour's wider Plan for Change, which the government says will restore neighbourhood policing, tackle crime and make town centres places people feel proud to use again.
The government has made several funding commitments for policing, including a 4.2% pay increase for police officers across England and Wales, and confirmation that the 2025-26 final police funding settlement provides up to £19.6 billion for the policing system in England and Wales. Funding for police forces has been raised to £17.6 billion, an increase of £1.2 billion aimed at addressing the challenges police face.
This includes an extra £5.5 million in core funding for Suffolk, in addition to other new funding boosts. The additional funding will help to put 3,000 additional neighbourhood police officers and police community support officers in post.
Recent initiatives in Ipswich: Several initiatives have been introduced to make Ipswich safer, including the Safer Streets summer blitz, which saw increased police patrols and local action, Operation Spotlight, Operation Machinize 2 and Clear, Hold, Build.
Clear, Hold, Build is a tactic developed by the Home Office to tackle serious and organised crime and build communities more resilient to their influence, which has been underway in the Gipping and Westgate wards since March.
Between March and August, police made 111 arrests, charged 21 people and secured convictions totalling almost 43 years.
Officers seized vehicles and dangerous weapons, including ninja swords and crossbows, and took around £500,000 worth of cocaine off the streets.
Operation Machinize 2 targeted cash-intensive businesses suspected of involvement in illegal employment, the sale of illicit goods, money laundering and modern slavery.
Over the seven-week operation, Suffolk police made 13 arrests, seized over 10,500 cigarettes, almost 1,200 illegal vapes and around 8kg of hand rolling tobacco.
The bottom line: The Winter of Action represents a nationwide effort to make high streets safer during the Christmas period, with Ipswich set to benefit from increased patrols and enforcement as part of the government's wider crime-fighting strategy.
