Residents across Cheshire are set to pay an extra £10 a year on average to fund policing, writes Aran Dhillon.
It comes after it emerged that the “burden” of funding is shifting from central Government to taxpayers in the area.
Cheshire’s Police and Crime Panel supported Police and Crime Commissioner David Keane’s (pictured) proposed budget and £10 precept increase earlier today (February 7).
The policing precept – the element of council tax that pays for policing – will rise by an average of £10 per year to help fund this year’s budget.
It follows a public consultation where, Mr Keane said, two thirds of respondents agreed to an increase in the precept to invest in neighbourhood policing.
Panel chairman Evan Morris said he believes members “are more informed than they have ever been” about the current situation and challenges facing the force.
Labour’s Mr Keane, who is seeking re-election in the PCC elections in May, labelled the meeting as “one of the most important” of the year before telling the panel it comes following a “difficult and in-depth process”.
But Cheshire West and Chester Conservative Cllr Andrew Dawson asked him to reflect on his past budgets and about whether he expects the “above inflation” precept rises he has been seeking to “come to an end” or being likely to continue.
Mr Keane told him he realises the ‘burden’ of police funding is shifting from central Government to local taxpayers but said, without precept increases in recent years, the force would be “way, way behind where we are now”.
Plans include all of Cheshire’s 122 policing communities having their own named police officer dedicated to tackling issues in each area.
Mr Keane says it is thanks to the 43 additional frontline police officers, recruited as part of the commissioner’s budget last year, and an additional 90 officers funded by the Government’s uplift programme, who will be in post by March 2021.
The new neighbourhood officers will work alongside the PCSOs already dedicated to each policing community to develop “strong links” with residents and “tackle emerging issues before they become more serious”.
PCC David Keane added: “When I was elected I made a commitment to putting more officers back where they belong – in the heart of our communities.
“The community base model, which I introduced in 2018, has seen each of the 122 police communities in Cheshire have its own accessible police base and PCSO and now they’ll each have a dedicated police constable.
“This has not been an easy promise to deliver with challenging financial circumstances and an increase in serious crime taking officers away from our neighbourhoods but I have fought for these neighbourhood officers as I know how important a visible policing presence is to the residents I represent.”
Is there any evidence to support his claim that two thirds of respondents agreed to the increase? Exactly how many responded?
This is an inevitable consequence of use voting for national governments that promise to cut taxes.
Rather than the funding coming from people’s incomes or expenditure (income tax, national insurance, vat), it instead comes from local council tax. This benefits people with high incomes and shifts the burden onto the lower paid.