Police and Crime Commissioner, Tim Passmore raised the policing element of the council tax by £2 a month ( for a Band D property) for 2019/20. This extra funding will see 29 extra police officers across the county, 24 civilian investigators, a share of 45 police staff with Norfolk and increased investment in technology.
The precept increase will allow the Chief Constable to enhance police visibility and pro-activity across the county, and increase the Constabulary’s capacity to deal with more complex investigations which is what residents of Suffolk have asked for.
The Chief Constable’s proposal for the additional precept funding for this financial year (2019/20) addresses two major concerns – the increase in violent and drug-related crime and improved visibility. The additional funding will see eight new police officers in Ipswich and a targeted squad of 21 officers to fight drugs and serious violence which will operate across the county.
The precept increase raised £6.5m through the policing element of the council tax, along with the additional home office grant of £1.3m and a one-off grant of £1.2m to help fund the increase in the employers’ contributions to the police pension scheme. In all, the policing budget will be increased by £9.2m.
Once unavoidable cost pressures and savings made throughout the year have been accounted for, this will give the Constabulary a total of £4.8m extra for the policing budget for this financial year.
Full detail of the Precept plans 2019/20
And updates on the implementation of the plan is available here:
Progress report December 2019
Progress report August 2019
Progress report May 2019
Press release:
Funding extra officers for the county
