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Are you prepared to pay a £1 per month towards policing from
April, 2019? -A survey
BCU26 06112018 Message sent on behalf of the Police & Crime
Commissioner:
Residents across the Avon and Somerset Constabulary area are being asked
whether they are prepared to pay an additional £1 a month towards
policing from April, 2019.
Last year the Government unexpectedly gave all Police and Crime
Commissioners (PCCs) across the country the flexibility to raise the
policing part of the council tax by £1 a month for the average band D
household.
Sue Mountstevens is hoping that PCCs will be given that flexibility
again this year, she said: “With last year’s £1 rise we were able to
start an ambitious programme of recruitment and commit to employing up
to 300 police officers. We were also able to protect neighbourhood
policing, the police officers and Police Community Support Officers
(PCSOs) in your local area, all thanks to your support for the rise.
“The Chief Constable and I have agreed that next year’s focus will
concentrate on serious violence. The threat from serious and organised
crime has changed rapidly, increasing in both volume and complexity and
preying on the most vulnerable in society.
“If we are able to increase the policing part of the council tax by £1 a
month next year and the Government grant for policing stays the same and
there are no additional surprises we are committed to a new focus on
burglary and drugs. We must continue to dismantle the recruitment of
vulnerable young people into ‘county lines’ drugs gangs. It’s clear that
this leads to an increase in knife-crime and serious violence, including
stabbings and gang-related disorder and it must be tackled and given the
right resources. “I
absolutely recognise that any increase in household bills will be felt
by residents and it’s not easy to keep asking local people to contribute
to the issues that we are facing in policing and as a society. It’s
really important that residents tell me what they would be prepared to
pay. These are difficult decisions and I need to be sure that I have
heard from as many local people as possible.”
Sue Mountstevens is asking for people’s views in an online survey on her
website
http://www.avonandsomerset-pcc.gov.uk which closes at
midnight on January 14, 2019.
For further information or to request a copy of the survey please call
01278 646188.
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