Wiltshire PCC's budget plans given go ahead
It means our contribution to policing through council tax is going up
Key policing services in Wiltshire are to see further investment after the Police and Crime Commissioner's budget proposals were green lit by the county's Police and Crime panel.
The panel, which is made up of cross-party councillors from Wiltshire and Swindon, backed Philip Wilkinson's plans by an eight to two majority.
As a result, the policing precept in Wiltshire will rise by 5.2%, which equates to an extra £13 a year for the average Band D property.
The extra funding will allow the Force to invest in key areas people of Wiltshire and Swindon have identified as well as supporting a new operational model, which will enable neighbourhood teams to provide visible, community-focused, policing.
The budget includes provision for the re-development of the Force's Devizes-based headquarters and the new policing hub in the south of the county, following the PCC's estates strategy being published earlier this month.
PCC Philip Wilkinson said he understood the pressures people were facing with their finances, but the precept increase was supported by 85% of respondents to his recent "Policing, Priorities and ££s" survey, saying the public wanted to see investments made into policing.
He said: “The decision to increase the precept has been a difficult but necessary one. I am listening to residents when they tell me that they want a better and improved service from both the police and wider criminal justice system with improved outcomes and more visibility.
“Whilst key improvements have been delivered over past 12 months, there is still much to do to make Wiltshire safer as crime and policing demand becomes ever more complex.
"Even by putting the precept up by £13 a year, we still need to make savings of £2.4m to cover the funding gap as we remain one of the worst funded force areas in the country.
“However, both the Chief Constable and I are committed to delivering a policing service which meets an ever-changing crime picture and is fit for the future. I am confident that with this increase we can continue to invest in key areas to maintain the improvements that we are now seeing across the board.”