APCC Response to the Police Funding Announcement
Responding to today’s police funding settlement APCC Lead on Funding Formula, CSR and Grants, Roger Hirst, Essex Police Fire and Crime Commissioner, said:
“Today’s announcement is good news for policing and gives Police and Crime Commissioners greater flexibility in locally raised funding. The police service must adapt to meet evolving threats and challenges, and this can only happen with sound investment to support growth. We welcome the flexibility in precept cap, which in part recognises the inflationary pressures currently impacting forces and the need for additional funding if we are to maintain the frontline resources necessary to get crime down.
“We also welcome the government’s commitment to funding the police pay increase, although it does not meet the requirements of every force given that it is allocated via the funding formula, not by the successes in officer recruitment. We will however, need a further discussion in-year to deal with a pay increase for 24/25 and beyond what is already funded.
“Across England and Wales, Police and Crime Commissioners are driving effective police programmes and strategies that are successfully reducing crime. They want to make the most out of the opportunities presented by a stronger frontline. The ability to build on current success depends on appropriate and targeted resourcing and this settlement will enable PCCs to invest in areas that are not only important to the public but vital for preventing future harm.
“Ultimately, people want to see visible and accessible policing in their communities and action taken on their concerns. With the government’s Uplift recruitment programme complete, PCCs can now focus funding on equipping these officers with the training and technology they need to investigate crime, bring offenders to justice, and respond more effectively to the complexity of crime and new demands on the service.”
Deputy Lead Dr Alan Billings, PCC for South Yorkshire said:
“There is a perception in many of our communities that levels of crime and anti-social behaviour are increasing. If they are to be tackled effectively, the police service must be properly funded.
“We have more officers than we did and that is to be welcomed. But, as we move further onto the digital age, so do criminals, and officers need the skills and technology to be able to defeat them. This all comes at a cost.
“Despite the tight finances, Police and Crime Commissioners will work with chief constables to use every penny to support the priorities people most want to see – not least targeting neighbourhood crimes and bringing offenders to justice.”
Ends