At Wakefield BID, we work closely with West Yorkshire Police and Wakefield Council to support a safe, welcoming and well-managed city centre for businesses, residents and visitors.
As part of that partnership, we’ll be sharing regular policing updates from the Wakefield Central Neighbourhood Policing Team, providing insight into activity, priorities and progress across Wakefield city centre.
Below is the latest update from Inspector Paul Fraser.
Along with all my colleagues at Wakefield Central NPT, I would like to wish everyone a belated Happy New Year, and I trust people have recovered from what was another hectic festive season.
The end of 2025 saw the culmination of a highly productive 12 months for the team. Reported crime and incidents of anti-social behaviour are now at a four-year low. All police and partnership data shows that we are continuing to make in-roads into protecting the community and ensuring Wakefield city centre is a safe place to live, visit and work.
Across the year, we have delivered a combination of reactive and proactive operations, utilising both overt and covert policing tactics to tackle crime head-on. I make no apologies for delivering a back-to-basics approach, where those who seek to harm our community through their own choices are relentlessly targeted and brought to justice.
This “Tackle Not Tolerate” approach has also seen us continue to work hand-in-hand with colleagues from Wakefield Council, who have been highly successful in securing Criminal Behaviour Orders against repeat offenders who view the city centre as their location of choice. Wakefield now has more offenders subject to CBOs than both Leeds and Bradford city centres.
Furthermore, the introduction of the revised City Centre Public Spaces Protection Order (PSPO) has given neighbourhood officers greater opportunity to tackle anti-social behaviour and other conduct that damages our community but does not always meet the threshold for criminal prosecution. Businesses can expect further joint communications from local NPT officers, Wakefield BID and the local authority to help explain the new prohibitions, requirements and restrictions introduced by the PSPO. I am already seeing a positive impact from enforcement, and I know this will continue to grow as the legislation becomes embedded.
It is not lost on me that anecdotal accounts of visitor experiences in our city can sometimes portray an image that many of us do not recognise. We should all be conscious of the harm this can do. Wakefield remains the safest city in the region – a fact we should all be proud of – and I will continue to champion our city centre at every opportunity.
We will continue to deliver a local policing response bespoke to the requirements of Wakefield, and through our award-winning partnership activity, I am confident we can build on the success delivered throughout 2025.
What this means for Wakefield BID businesses
For Wakefield BID members, this update reflects real, measurable progress in keeping Wakefield city centre safe, well-managed and welcoming for customers, staff and visitors.
Lower levels of reported crime and anti-social behaviour, alongside increased police presence and stronger enforcement tools such as Criminal Behaviour Orders and the revised City Centre PSPO, help create a more positive trading environment – particularly during busy daytime and evening periods.
Partnership working remains central to this progress. Wakefield BID continues to work closely with West Yorkshire Police and Wakefield Council to ensure business concerns are fed into local policing priorities and that businesses are kept informed about changes that affect them.
This update also sits alongside Safer Wakefield, Wakefield BID’s business-led approach to improving safety across the city centre. Safer Wakefield brings together businesses, the police and the council to strengthen communication, share intelligence and support practical action that helps prevent crime and anti-social behaviour.
