PCC confirms £10* a year policing precept increase for 2020/21

Suffolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Tim Passmore has confirmed today he will raise the policing element of the council tax by 19p a week (for a Band D property) for the next financial year.

At its meeting this morning (Friday 31 January) the Police and Crime Panel unanimously supported the PCC’s proposal.

This precept increase of 4.69%, which equates to £10 a year for a Band D property*, will see 20 extra police officers across the county in areas such as serious crime disruption, roads policing and rural crime. This is in addition to the 54 new officers which will be added to the establishment by March 2021 from the government uplift.

The precept increase will allow the Chief Constable to improve the standards of police investigations to bring more offenders to justice; enhance the Constabulary’s capacity and capability to tackle serious and organised crime, county lines and knife crime; make Suffolk’s roads safer and enhance the Constabulary’s ability to prevent crime happening in the first place, which is what residents of Suffolk have asked for.

Seven of these additional officers will form a new, pro-active neighbourhood policing team, which will be deployable to any part of the county to deal with operational threats and challenges. This team will comprise highly-visible, uniformed officers tasked to deal with violent crime, burglary, robbery, vehicle crime, drugs and anti-social behaviour. The remaining 13 officers will be deployed in an additional serious crime disruption team, the rural policing team, the outcome resolution team, a new domestic abuse perpetrator scheme and a new commercial vehicle enforcement unit.

The precept will also fund six civilian investigators to support the Sentinel teams introduced last year and the serious crime disruption team and ten police staff working in areas including modern slavery, domestic abuse and digital support.

Tim Passmore said, “I take no pleasure at all in increasing the policing element of the precept but if we are to improve policing in the county it is necessary. I really appreciate the wholehearted support of the Panel of my proposal.

“Difficult decisions had to be made, but the overwhelming view of the public that I talk to say they want more officers policing the county and this proposal gives us exactly that. I also held a precept survey earlier this month and of the 957 respondents, 69% supported my proposal.”

He added, “Last year’s extra money for policing from the council tax has been very well used and the increased focus on organised crime groups, violence and county lines and illegal drug use has produced some stellar results.  There is a page on my website which sets out exactly how last year’s precept was allocated and the impact that it has had. I will be doing the same this year to show resident of Suffolk exactly how their money will be spent in this coming financial year.”

The overall policing budget for 2020/21 will increase by £9.6m to £143.82m.

Full detail of how this precept increase is accounted for is available here.

The extra officers funded through the precept increase are in addition to the increase in the establishment through the government Uplift. Detail of the uplift can be found here.

Details of last year’s precept and the reports detailing progress on the spend can be found here.

This is how the £10 increase for a Band D looks for other council tax bands:

To find out which band your property is in click here

* £10 a year for a Band D property