PCC confirms £10* a year policing precept increase for 2022/23

Suffolk’s Police and Crime Commissioner, Tim Passmore has today confirmed the policing element of the council tax will increase by 19p* a week (*based on a Band D property) for the next financial year.
At its meeting this morning (Friday 28 January), Suffolk’s Police and Crime Panel, the scrutiny body which holds the PCC to account, supported the PCC’s proposal to increase the precept by 4.2%, which equates to £10 a year for a Band D property.
Tim Passmore said, “Following extensive consultation with the Chief Constable, I want to use the precept investment to focus on major improvements to the contact and control service.
“In all my public engagement, including the recent consultation on my new Police and Crime Plan, the one thing that comes through loud and clear is the public’s dissatisfaction in the 101 service. It is absolutely crucial I address these concerns.”
The agreed increase will fund the recruitment of additional staff to deal with calls and contact from the public more quickly and manage resources responding to calls for service more effectively. Additional Police Sergeants will be recruited to manage operations and the Constabulary will be able to create a digital desk to ensure it has the required capacity and capability to deal with public expectations regarding online and social media contact.
This comprehensive and ambitious programme will ensure the CCR continues to be able to deliver these essential services effectively and efficiently. The programme will be the led by the Assistant Chief Constable, with improvements being implemented in a sequenced and managed way to maintain business continuity.
Mr Passmore added, “In addition to the extra precept investment, the funding we receive through the national Operation Uplift will give us 72 more police officers in the next financial year which will bring the establishment to over 1400 fulltime officers in Suffolk by the end of March 2023 – many more than there has ever been since I was first elected. This is very good news for Suffolk because it will clearly help improve policing visibility countywide.”
An on-line survey held earlier this month supported the PCC’s proposal to raise the precept; of the 1,166 respondents, 62% supported the proposal.
Throughout the next financial year the PCC will monitor the impact that this investment has had. Quarterly updates on this progress will be published on this website. Reports detailing progress on the previous year’s precept investment.

• Late last year Policing Minister, Kit Malthouse gave PCCs the ability to raise the policing element of the precept by up to £10 per annum for a Band D property for the next financial year.

• See what this 4.2% increase looks like for other council tax bands.

• More detail about the proposed investment.