A new "policing pledge" will allow local people to set priorities with community officers in their areas.

National minimum standards are also to be introduced to determine things such as how quickly a call to the police should be answered and the provision of crime information to the public.

The move comes as the Government trumpets the success of a pledge to have a neighbourhood policing team in every community by Tuesday.

The teams will be working with residents to draw up "pledges" to tackle issues such as anti-social behaviour and drug-related crime.

The initiatives were announced by Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, kicking off Labour's local election campaign in the West Midlands.

There are now more than 3,600 neighbourhood policing teams in place, featuring 13,500 police officers and 16,000 community support officers (PCSOs), they said.

Speaking to residents, local police officers and community representatives, gathered to meet the pair at Stoke Heath Community Centre in Coventry, Home Secretary Jacqui Smith said: "Today is about listening," adding: "Cutting anti social behaviour is not something the police can do on their own."

Gordon Brown said: "The first thing I want to do is thank all the police and PCSOs that are here. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to all police and all PCSOs."

He added: "Neighbourhood policing is working. The reason it is working is because people can see a visible police presence on the ground. There are more police than ever before in this country."