Another £10 a year on your council tax bill for the police – are you happy to pay it?
How much are you prepared to pay for policing?
Right now you have the chance to tell Sussex Police and Crime Commissioner Katy Bourne what you think of her plans to add an extra £10 per year to council tax bills to fund policing across Sussex.
Ms Bourne has launched her consultation exercise this week but it is only open until next Thursday so you need to get your answers in quickly.
One former Sussex officer told Hastings In Focus: “I think the time for more precept rises to stop. The government has promised the extra funding for 20,000 more police officers so it’s a ‘no’ from me.”
What is the 'police precept'? It's the portion of your council tax that goes to the local police force.
He was also critical of the way the survey has been publicised he feels more could have been done to ensure people are aware of it and urges as many people as possible to make their feelings known.
Writing to the people of Sussex Ms Bourne says: “This is your chance to add your voice to the views I’ve collected over the past year.
“Residents have told me they support paying more to strengthen local policing, tougher enforcement against criminals and diverting young people away from crime.
“Thanks to previous increases in precept contributions, Sussex Police will have 100 extra PCSOs by March and 50 more specialist staff. It is also on target to recruit 250 additional police officers by 2023.
“On Wednesday the Government announced that Police and Crime Commissioners would be able to raise the local precept by £10 and confirmed an increase in total grant funding, which is welcome news. The Chief Constable has told me that any rise in precept contribution would further strengthen the force’s ability to keep Sussex safe.
“Now we know how much funding Sussex Police will get from Government, we know how much we need to ask from households in our county.
So I’m asking how you feel about increasing the amount you pay for policing by an average of 20p per week per household, an extra £10 a year. This would help Sussex Police to catch more criminals; protect more victims; prevent and solve more crimes.”
The survey simply asks if you support a £10 per year increase and the asks you to confirm which part of Sussex you are from, to complete the survey click on this link…
However much we pay for Sussex Police nothing will change. Before the cuts they were just as abysmal as a force. “We dont do that” or ” we dont have the resources” is their watchword. Its negative comments like this that gives the public no confidence in them whatsoever. Too much picking and choosing what they do. A crime is a crime. A change of mindset from negative to positive might be a step in the right direction. They had a 14% rise from our Council Tax last year, perhaps we could see what that produced before they ask for £10 from people who have very little who ask Sussex Police for help and don’t get it.
Well said!
Well said! I couldn’t have put it better myself.