Additional police patrols for Doncaster city centre

The Safer City initiative was launched in November 2024 and has seen joint working between the council and the police to make Doncaster safer, including increased council staff and resources in the city centre and improvements to the CCTV network.

Earlier this month, City of Doncaster Council’s Cabinet agreed a new 25-year city centre strategy, with £0.5m allocated from the 2025-26 budget to go towards an immediate city centre action plan in addition to the £1m allocated in Summer 2024.

Mayor of Doncaster Ros Jones said: “Creating a safer city centre is one of my biggest priorities. Through extensive consultation and feedback, residents and businesses have made it clear to me that they want to see more police and feel safer when using the city centre. As part of an immediate action plan to tackle these issues, I have allocated this funding to the police to strengthen the police presence. This will further help joint efforts of the police and council to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour and provide a reassuring presence in the city centre.

“Our city centre strategy details a strong vision for Doncaster city centre to stimulate enterprise, to increase footfall, bring in more services for the community and grow the economy so businesses and residents can thrive. To do this, we need to make sure the city centre is a place for everyone can enjoy and be able to visit without the fear of crime and anti-social behaviour. I would encourage businesses and the public to engage with our officers and with the police and to report any issues so we have real time intelligence to be able to respond.”

Doncaster District Commander Chief Superintendent Pete Thorp said: "Since the launch of the Safer City initiative, we have worked alongside City of Doncaster Council to reassert our commitment to tackling crime and anti-social behaviour in Doncaster city centre.

"Having already increased the number of officers working within our city centre policing team since the launch, this new investment allows us to bolster our resources and further boost police visibility in the area.

"We will also soon be opening a dedicated new policing hub within Frenchgate Shopping Centre, which will allow city centre-based officers to further strengthen relationships with retailers and respond even quicker to incidents in the centre of Doncaster.

"We want our city centre to be as safe and welcoming as it can possibly be, and we will continue to work alongside the council, our local communities and other key agencies to achieve and sustain a Safer City."

Find out more about the Safer City initiative by visiting Making Doncaster a Safer City - YourLifeDoncaster

Read about the vision for Doncaster city centre by visiting City Centre - City of Doncaster Council