PCC John Campion will be attending the Police and Crime Panel meeting next week (Wednesday 5th February) to present his budget plans for West Mercia Police.
The PCC will be looking to secure backing from the panel, to enable him to increase the council tax precept, to finalise the funding for policing and victim services.
Following flexibility given to PCCs around the council tax precept, PCC John Campion will be looking to boost West Mercia Police’s budget with approximately £139 million from taxpayers which would equate to just under half of the overall budget* for policing across the three counties.
However, despite the budget for policing rising by £14 million on the previous year, the force is facing challenges as a result of inflation and other financial pressures that the central government fund isn’t meeting.
PCC John Campion said: “I have, over the last few months, set out the challenges that West Mercia Police will be facing. As we have worked through the budget in further detail, the pressures are clear. West Mercia Police will need to make unavoidable service reductions and changes in order to continue focusing on fighting crime and responding to emergencies.
“The decision to increase council tax is never one I want to take, but we are in a position where we sadly have no choice. Policing will only continue to face increases in demand and the need for investment, which is why we are making important decisions now to set the force up to succeed in the future and ultimately keep communities safe.”
Temporary Chief Constable Richard Cooper said: “We will take all possible steps to ensure the force continues to deliver for the public. As well as extensive efforts to find efficiencies that minimise the impact on services, we’ve made difficult decisions regarding our people, with it being proposed that approximately 150 staff posts may have to be removed.
“Changes to the policing model will be made to ensure that our officers and staff are best placed to respond effectively, and the availability of our resources is maximised across policing areas. We remain steadfast in our commitment to respond swiftly to emergencies, investigate crime effectively, be visible in communities, and focus on the issues that matter most to people across Herefordshire, Shropshire, and Worcestershire.”
*£302.487m