A £211m budget for policing West Mercia has been confirmed for the coming year, to protect visible community policing and ensure work continues to tackle root causes of crime.
The budget protects numbers of frontline PCs and PCSOs, delivers continued investment to reform and modernise the force, and will see more resources focused on frontline policing.
The police’s share of council tax will increase by 3.94%, in line with inflation and equivalent to an extra 2p a day for a typical home. Rising inflation was a key factor behind the decision, along with a 10% increase on demand for the West Mercia force in the last year.
John Campion said: “This budget ensures both short and long term challenges can be met whilst keeping council tax increases to a minimum. It ensures our police have the resources they need to meet changing demands while protecting the visible, neighbourhood policing our communities need.”
“The necessary work to modernise West Mercia Police and the service it delivers to our communities will continue. Projects such as mobile working and body worn video have already been delivered and are helping deliver a more effective, efficient police service. This budget builds on that by ensuring a new state of the art control centre can be delivered this year, as well as changes to focus a greater proportion of police resources where they should be – in our communities.”
“I will also continue to invest in good services to help victims of crime cope and recover, and deliver a wide range of community projects to effectively tackle root causes of crime; projects which helped more than 12,000 people last year.”
The Commissioner’s proposals were supported by the Police and Crime Panel at a meeting on Tuesday.
Full details of next year’s budget are available here.
Issued on: Tuesday 6 February
