Rise in Hampshire policing council tax would be 50 extra officers

Fifty more police officers could soon be on the streets of Hampshire, if the county's Police and Crime Commissioner gets more money from our council tax precept.

Donna Jones is asking for a bigger tax levy than usual, saying it would pay for more staff in the force.

Previously the biggest allowed increase has been an extra £10 a year for a Band D property.

This year the government is allowing forces to increase the amount levied by £15 a year on a Band D home.

That would increased the overall tax bill towards policing for Hampshire Band D residents to £251.46.

The extra cash is hoped to fund the delivery of new police officers and to help tackle the pressures of rising costs.

If the plan goes through it will mean the force has an extra £12.3m from council tax.

The proposal has been developed to support the PCC’s police and crime plan which sets out nine key priorities including having 600 police officers in Hampshire by the end of 2023.

In a statement, the chief constable Olivia Pinkney outlined her support for a precept increase, saying:

"In terms of priorities, officer numbers and visibility are two categories that the public say are most important to them. This chimes with the mandate of More Officers and Safer Streets upon which Commissioner Donna Jones was elected.

"Against this context, and given the challenges faced by policing, I have no hesitation in making the operational case for a maximum £15 increase in precept for Band D. This is the only credible way to deliver more police officers than those already committed.

"Despite national government efforts, police funding is not keeping up. Factoring in the national funding provision, and even with a £15 increase of council tax as per this recommendation, inflationary pressures will account for nearly all of the total increase in police funding for Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary."

The county’s Police and Crime Panel will meet on Friday (27th January) to decide whether to support the increase.

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