“Is an extra £1.25 a month too much to pay for a safer county?” Panel will be asked

• Police and Crime Commissioner Chris Nelson will ask the county’s police and crime panel to help him find an extra £1.25 per month in council tax to strengthen the Constabulary
• If approved, it would add £15 to next year’s council tax bill for an average band D householder and raise £5.8m to enable the Chief Constable to invest in more officers and essential equipment
• A £15 rise for the next financial year is less than 30p per week, and at 5.4% is just half the current rate of inflation
• Mr. Nelson said, “It might seem like a generous figure, but with rising costs in energy, fuel and pay it still won’t meet all of the Constabulary’s expenditure”.

Gloucestershire’s Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Chris Nelson will ask the county’s police and crime panel to help him find an extra £1.25 per month in council tax to help pay for more police.

If the panel agrees, it will add £15 to the annual council tax bill for an average band D householder.  But as 64% of households in the County are in Bands A-C for Council Tax purposes, the majority will actually pay less than £15.00.

A £15 rise for the next financial year is less than 30p per week, and at 5.4% is just half the current rate of inflation. It would give the Chief Constable an extra £5.8 million to spend on more officers, staff and equipment.

In a recent survey of the public’s perception of crime in the county, the majority of Gloucestershire residents who responded said the Constabulary was under-funded, with many wanting to see extra officers recruited. But even if his proposals are accepted, the PCC says the budget remains very tight.

Many want to see more money spent on recruiting extra officers, improving the criminal justice system, attending, solving and fighting crime.

Mr. Nelson said, “An extra £5.8 million might seem a lot, but I think it offers excellent value for money.

“Once you take into account the extra officers we have recruited; a fully deserved pay rise for police officers and police staff; plus the increasing cost of electricity, gas and fuel, it still  represents a budget which will require tight control if the Constabulary is to live within its means.

“That will require improved efficiency and productivity, which is something I am regularly reviewing with the Chief Constable, to make sure this much needed investment goes as far as it can.”

The cost of policing in Gloucestershire is split almost equally between the Government and local tax payers, with 51% of its funding coming through central taxation and 49% through council tax.

When the PCC’s office conducted a survey asking the public for its perception of crime in their communities, while most people said they felt safe or very safe, the majority of those who responded said the police were under-funded.

Many wanted to see more spent on recruiting extra officers, improving the criminal justice system, attending, solving and fighting crime.

The PCC will seek approval for his proposed budget at the next meeting of the police and crime panel on Friday (3 February).