Somerset’s Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Shelford has this week confirmed an increase in the policing part of the council tax – known as the precept – of 4.1% for local residents.
PCC Mark Shelford’s proposal was supported by the Police and Crime Panel at a meeting on Tuesday (February 1st).
The incraese equates to 83p more per month for the average band D household.
The PCC says the increase will help deliver his Police and Crime Plan, which aims to provide an “efficient, effective and legitimate police service for local people”.
The additional money raised will allow Avon and Somerset Police to manage inflationary pressures including officer and staff pay rises. This increase also means any savings that still need to be made will be less likely to impact frontline services.
The decision follows a seven-week long consultation that saw over 5,600 people complete an online and postal Police Tax Survey. This was supported by a separate telephone survey that runs throughout the year, which collected an additional 750 responses.
The majority of the 6,335 responses were supportive of any increase in the precept (65.6%) and the individual option with the most support was the 4.1% increase (47.7%).
PCC Mark Shelford says: “I would like to thank the Police and Crime Panel and local people for their support. This additional funding will support the work of officers and staff in delivering my Police and Crime Plan to ensure residents have an efficient, effective and legitimate police service that meets the needs of their communities.”
“I know that any increase in household bills is felt by local people but, without it, significant cuts would have to be made that would impact frontline services. This is why I was determined to hear from as many residents as possible and, through my consultation, I heard from 6,335 residents of which the majority were in support of an increase to support policing.”
“This increase is a really positive step for policing and allows the force and my office to work towards our vision of more visible policing, better community engagement, preventing crime, strengthening partnership work, and improving outcomes and support for victims of crime.”
“The precept increase will also allow us to give pay rises to the policing family, ensuring we are recognising the hard work of officers and staff that go above and beyond for our communities. If you want an outstanding police service, you have to fund it and, as your PCC, I will ensure Avon and Somerset Police deliver.”
It was noted that while the PCC’s online and postal survey saw an increase in the number of respondents from Black, Asian, Mixed and Other ethnic minority communities, the response was still not representative of the local population and he said that more will be done to make responses to future consultations more diverse.
