Dorset PCC asks for £1.25 a month extra from members of the public
If approved, those living in a Band D property would pay an extra £15 a year for policing the county
Dorset PCC is asking for £1.25 a month, to ensure continuous investment in policing for Dorset.
The Police & Crime Commissioner is asking members of the public for their views on paying the additional money.
If approved, the figure would see those living in a Band D property paying an extra £15 a year for policing the county.
Each police force is funded through a combination of funding from precept and a government grant. The government has now announced the budget for policing, which presumes that PCCs will raise the precept by £15 a year.
The Commissioner says he needs the support from the people of Dorset to ensure that the ongoing process of investment and improvement can continue.
Police and Crime Commissioner David Sidwick said: “Over the last year, policing in Dorset has gone from strength to strength – we are now the sixth safest county in England and Wales (up from 10th) dwelling burglary has gone down by 17%, non-dwelling burglary by 22%, ASB incidents have gone down by 10%, rural crime has reduced by 43% and rural engagement has increased by 33% - and I want all this good work to continue.
“Since becoming PCC, I have overseen investment in strengthening neighbourhood policing and the Force has initiated new ground-breaking policing operations such as Op Viper and Op Scorpion to tackle county lines and drug crime, invested in tackling ASB through Op Relentless and my Op Relentless Community Fund, and put vital resources into tackling rural crime.
“Investment has also been made in several key areas of technology including new mobile technology, mobile fingerprint scanners and robotic process automation – all dedicated to putting officers out in the community instead of behind a desk.
“Inflation is currently just under 11% and therefore a £15 precept rise equates to approximately half of the rate of that inflation. Such an increase will mostly ensure that all the good work that I have already mentioned can be maintained. The increase should also allow the Force to overrecruit by an additional 15 police officers.
“Don’t get me wrong, I would much rather not have ask for funding, and I have been and will continue to lobby for more government funding, but I do want to be able to keep on ensuring success on behalf of the people of Dorset and I want to keep on delivering my Police and Crime Plan, the document that contains the policing priorities of our residents and communities.
"I want to be able to say in a years’ time, that Dorset is one of the top five safest counties, that we have cut crime and ASB even further, that we have driven out even more drugs gangs from our county and that we continue to make Dorset safer than ever before.”