The Police and Crime Commissioner raised the policing element of the council tax by 30p a week (for a Band D property) for the 2021/22 financial year, his proposal was supported by the Police and Crime Panel on 29th January 2021. This precept increase of 6.7%, equates to £15 a year for a Band D property.
The plans for the precept investment addresses some of the major areas the Constabulary needs to focus on to continue to be efficient and effective and meet the needs of residents and businesses in the county.
The Chief Constable’s focus for the additional investment is in three key areas:
This precept investment will enable the Chief Constable to make operational changes and improvements within the 2021/2022 financial year, seeing the introduction of a further 25 police officers and 26 police staff. This investment is essential to ensure Suffolk Constabulary continues to deliver a high-quality service, catches criminals and keeps the public safe.
As per previous years the Constabulary will commence recruitment into the additional roles being created as a result of the precept investment. All are considered essential to ensure the Constabulary continues to be able to deal with modern day policing challenges however it is acknowledged the Constabulary has to effectively manage a wide range of existing and new pressures and any changes to the numbers or roles of additional officers and staff will be explained and communicated.
With regard to Operation Uplift, the Constabulary’s share of the Home Office funding from the national programme is 53 officers in 2021/22. All Forces are required to provide officers to special operations units across the country and Suffolk is required to provide 2 to the Eastern Region Specialist Operations Unit. In addition, 11 of the 53 Suffolk officers will work in the joint teams with Norfolk Constabulary, with the remaining 40 being deployed into Suffolk Constabulary posts across the county.
78 additional police officers and 26 additional police staff will be recruited in total.
Further information, see the press release.
Full detail of the precept plan is available here: Precept plans 2021/22 (PDF, 224KB)
Precept progress report to June 30 2021 (PDF, 895KB)
Precept progress report to September 30 2021 (PDF, 936KB)
Precept progress report to December 31 2021 (PDF, 927KB)
Detail of the plan for the Government Uplift is available here: Uplift Proposals 2021/22 (PDF, 129KB)
Update on Uplift progress to June 30 2021 (PDF, 660KB)
Update on Uplift progress to September 30 2021 (PDF, 684KB)
Update on Uplift progress to December 31 2021 (PDF,678KB)
Details of the 2020/21 year’s precept and the reports detailing progress on the spend and the 2019/20 documents.