Peterborough residents asked how much they are willing to pay to support police funding

Acting Police and Crime Commissioner, Ray Bisby is required by law to set the budget for Cambridgeshire Constabulary and, as part of this, determine how much people living in the county contribute to the policing part of council tax.

Mr Bisby said: "I know just how hard 2020 has been for people living and working in our county and sadly there will be many weeks ahead of us before the pandemic is brought under control.

“Throughout the pandemic, our police officers, volunteers and staff have continued to work tirelessly to help keep us all safe, whilst responding to the usual demands for service.

“We now have the highest number of warranted police officers our county has ever seen, with numbers increasing from 1,425 in March 2018 to 1,559 expected by March 2021. A further 140 officers are expected in the next two years from the Government uplift programme”

“It is always difficult to ask people to pay more money towards policing however it is vital that we do everything we can to make sure our police force is able to continue to improve and to respond to our increasing demands for service and to keep people safe.”

“If the precept is raised to the full amount expected by Government, the Chief Constable has identified a range of improvements to the service delivered to the public, having taken into account all the additional projected costs of the Constabulary and the savings already identified. This includes:

Additional call handlers

Additional support for responding to calls for service from the vulnerable

Cyber, online prevention officers

Digital Media Investigators

Increased capacity for handling digital contact from the public

Additional Support for the development of frontline officers

“In line with government guidance, I am asking for your views on an increase of £1.25 a month (based on a Band D property) to council tax that would enable the Chief Constable to implement the improvements that he has identified. I would be very grateful if you could spare a few minutes to complete my short survey which also includes some questions on your views on what matters to you in terms of policing and crime. Your views will then inform my final decision on how much to raise the policing part of the council tax."

A link to the survey can be found here: www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/DNTBBTX.