Households to pay more for Dorset Police
The force is putting up their share of the council tax
Last updated 3rd Feb 2023
Dorset Police will be getting a lower than inflation increase in their share of the council tax from April – the rise adding £15 a year to Band D properties.
But despite the rise of just under 4 per cent the force says it will still be difficult to meet its targets – facing not only inflationary costs, but the second lowest Government payment in the country.
Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, David Sidwick, said it remains unfair that while council taxpayers elsewhere in the country pay 20 per cent of their police budget, Dorset council taxpayers are having to find more than 50 per cent.
He says the national police funding formula pays little attention to the seasonal influx of visitors to the county, or its rurality – although said he was hopeful that a coming Government review of the formula would recognise the need to make changes.
Dorset’s outgoing Chief Constable, Scott Chilton, who leave for the top job in Hampshire at the end of March, said that had councillors not accepted the increase it could have resulted in cuts to staffing, including the loss of some uniformed posts.
But he said with the increase it would mean services being maintained and the force being able to recruit an additional 15 officers above the national ‘uplift’ amount – staff which would be directed to the areas of most need.
He told the police and crime panel that even with the agreed increase and £4million of savings already identified there was still the need to find further savings of at least £3.3million in the coming financial year.
The meeting heard that energy costs and contracted finance agreements were adding £2.5million a year to force bills with another £5.5m in pay awards – both areas out of the control of the force finance team.
Mr Chilton said despite the restricted budget the force was bucking the national trend with its success in tackling overall crime and anti-social behaviour with Dorset’s crime rate now the 6th lowest in the country, up from its previous position of 10th.
He said ‘significant inroads’ had been made against drug dealing and where staff were concentrating on anti-social behaviour in some communities it was being rewarded with better figures. Further investment was also being planned for rural policing.
Mr Chilton revealed that among the cost-savings already identified was a temporary pause in recruiting police civilian staff with the force was also looking at extending the operational life of some of its capital assets. It is also considering ways of using technology to make it more cost-effective, including to the 101 phone service.
The unanimous agreement from the panel to increase precept comes after an on-line public survey of 1553 respondents, with 74% agreeing that Dorset Police requires additional funding and 60% supporting the proposal to raise the precept.
The agreed increase will mean the following rise, from April 2023 , Band A, up from £177.05 to £187.05; B £206.56 to £218.23; C £236.7 to £249.40; D £265.58 to £280.58; E £324.60 to £342.93; F £383.62 to £405.28; G £442.63 to £467.63 and H from £531.16 to £561.16.