Increase in council tax for policing to 'allow for additional investment'

johndwyer

John Dwyer, Police & Crime Commissioner for Cheshire has set the police budget which sees an increase in the council tax for policing of £3 per year (1.99%) for an average Band D household.

John Dwyer explains: "An important part of my role as your Police & Crime Commissioner is to set the budget for policing in Cheshire. This is a decision that I do not take lightly. I need to fund the police to prevent and reduce crime, place victims at the centre of the services that the police deliver and protect the front line. This has been a challenging budget to set following the announcement by Government about future police funding. I have had to find £8 million savings to make sure that there is sufficient money to balance the books and achieve the aims in my Police & Crime Plan to create a truly victim centred service.

"The root and branch review of the Constabulary that I instigated after my election, has allowed me to buck the trend this year as significant non-pay savings have been found. Work has been undertaken to make savings by changing the way contracts are negotiated, how frontline staff are supported by back office functions and in the way that the Constabulary is structured. These savings will help me meet the ongoing financial challenges set by the Government. When I speak to the public, they say that they want to see more officers on the beat and I have been working with the Chief Constable to shape policing for the future.

"My aim is to achieve a visible, agile and well equipped service to meet the increased challenges of policing Cheshire such as the increased threats of child sexual exploitation and cybercrime."

Chief Constable, Simon Byrne said, "I am grateful to the Police & Crime Commissioner and the people of Cheshire for supporting the budget which will enable me to implement my plans to change the way the Constabulary works to improve neighbourhood policing. The development of a flexible and visible local police service, backed by a professional support function which is centralised and efficient, will result in a greater focus on those things that matter most to the public and support victims of crime."

Planned improvements include: 53 additional police officers recruited by March 2016 and 131 extra officers aligned to neighbourhoods by the same date; stronger focus on key issues of concern, including child sexual exploitation, rape and domestic abuse; maintaining PCSOs to ensure that visibility and public engagement is maximised and new technology to support mobile working and a programme of flexible software and systems to reduce the need for officers to spend time in stations. Additionally, capacity and flexibility will be maintained to respond to national threats of terrorism and cyber-crime. The crime recording function will be enhanced to ensure a high level of data quality.

John Dwyer added, "The budget I have set today will allow for additional investment in policing thanks to the support I have received from the public to increase the council tax for policing by £3 per year for an average Band D household.

"Cheshire residents currently pay one of the lowest levels of council tax for policing in the country. The Home Secretary has given Police & Crime Commissioner's the freedom to raise council tax by up to 2%. A 1.97% increase in the police part of the Council Tax means an increase of under 6p per week. This supports an enhanced local policing service to support the new policing model and put extra officers on the streets, something that the public tell me that they want to see."

Tags:
Cheshire Police & Crime Commissioner, Council Tax, John Dwyer
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Comments

Here's what readers have had to say so far. Why not add your thoughts below.

DELETED ACCOUNT
Saturday 7th February 2015 at 12:56 pm
So it's the police turn to have the increase this year. Cheshire police covers the old county of Cheshire and what they won't do it is provide data of what is spent in CE, CW and Warrington respectively. Neither will they provide information on how much money they receive from council tax in total for each of the three areas. I wait with bated breadth to see what the "enhanced local police service" looks like in our area.
Simon Worthington
Wednesday 11th February 2015 at 11:50 am
" place victims at the centre of the services that the police deliver and protect the front line"
How wonderful. The job of the police is to uphold the law and catch criminals not hold hands with victims however nice that may be. Most victims would appreciate the police getting on with their job and when necessary trained councellors attend victims. If the plod need more money then why do they refuse to ticket illegally and dangerously parked vehicles. The best way to raise the cash would be for the police to keep any cash from the tickets they issue then the extra funding would come from lawbreakers.
Derek Stevens
Wednesday 11th February 2015 at 3:46 pm
Perhaps the Police and Crime Commissioner could save some money by not sending out glossy 'look how good we are' publicity brochures.
The Fire Service may also consider the same.
We want services, not publicity brochures that go straight for recycling.