Peterborough residents can have their say on how much extra they would be willing to pay in council tax for police funding

Residents can have their say on plans to increase the police portion of council tax in Peterborough and Cambridgeshire.

Police and Crime Commissioner Darryl Preston is asking the public for their views as he prepares a new budget to sustain the force’s success in reducing crime.

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough PCC has launched a new online survey asking residents how much they would be prepared to pay towards policing in 2024/25.

The survey is available at https://forms.office.com/e/PSEtUmuUD8

Roughly half (54%) of Cambridgeshire Constabulary’s funding comes from government with the remainder (46%) from the policing part of council tax (known as the precept).

Mr Preston said: “With record numbers of new officers to support, and increased costs to manage, funding must work harder than ever to sustain performance and strengthen our resilience against future challenges.

“The money Cambridgeshire gets from government is one of the lowest in the country and does not reflect our growing population. I have and will continue to lobby government on your behalf to review this issue.”

Police and Crime Commissioners have been told by Government that they are able to raise the police element of council tax by up to £13 per year (25p a week for the average band D household), which equates to a 4.8% increase.

Mr Preston added: “The good news is that Cambridgeshire and Peterborough are safe places to live, with significant reductions in rural crime (24%) and neighbourhood crime (23%) across the county compared to pre-covid times.

“This is in no small part due to the hundreds more officers we have, more than ever before - 1,343 in 2015, and 1,732 now.

“It is vital that we keep those officers, continue to deliver these results and improve on others – tackling the worrying rise locally and nationally of violent crime, the growing challenges of fraud and cybercrime across national and international boundaries and increasing call handling resources.

“I understand that many of you want to see more of those new extra officers in your neighbourhoods. The Chief Constable is working towards that as officers come out of training, but it is important to understand that a lot of police work goes on behind the scenes tackling issues such as organised crime, modern day slavery, violence against women and girls, and counter terrorism.

“Both visible and non-visible policing are important, and I want to ensure hidden harms such as drugs and sexual violence are tackled at the same time as those things that are more visible such as shoplifting and burglary.”

Mr Preston said he is keen to understand residents’ views and has said that if the government announces a final police settlement that is better than anticipated, he will review what that means locally to help minimise any additional financial burden on residents.

The survey is available online and will be open until 5pm on 2nd January 2024.

If you would like a hard copy or would prefer to give your views by telephone, please call 0300 333 3456 or email [email protected]