PCC John Campion has reinforced his commitment to ensure crime falls further, more offenders are brought to justice and victims get the support they need in his latest budget proposals.
The PCC’s budget proposals for 2024/25, which he will present to the Police and Crime Panel next week, are focused on building on the investment that he has made in West Mercia Police. Recognising the financial challenges the country continues to face, the PCC wants the tax-paying public to feel the impact and increased focus on key areas of concern:
- Improved visible and accessible policing – communities will see an increased presence through the creation of town centre-based policing teams and 100% of Safer Neighbourhood Teams (SNT) PC posts occupied.
- Better investigations and outcomes – victims will be kept informed throughout an investigation and improved file quality will result in quicker and better justice outcomes.
- Improving public contact – the public will be able to access the police in an emergency and non-emergency through improved call response times, and technology will be improved to allow digital evidence to be uploaded by the public.
PCC John Campion said: “My budget for 2024/25 sets out a positive plan for the communities of West Mercia. I recognise how important receiving a quality level of service from their police force is for the communities of West Mercia. Therefore, despite the financial challenges we continue to face as a nation, I am focused on delivering what the public have told me they want.
“This budget is focused on realigning resources within policing to best meet community priorities and what really matters to them. I am building on the investment I had made to date in West Mercia Police and working with the Chief Constable to ensure resources are directed to these areas of concern. This includes protecting police officer numbers, developing town-centre policing teams, improving response times for 101 and 999, and seeing better investigations and outcomes for victims.
“These proposals are another step forward in delivering my Safer West Mercia Plan and ensuring communities, and their priorities, remain at the heart of policing.”
Temporary Chief Constable Alex Murray said: “Over the last year we have made a huge amount of progress in improving the service we deliver; we’ve seen crime reduced, more crimes solved and ultimately fewer victims across the counties we serve. These budget proposals will continue delivering improvements for the public and it’s right that we prioritise and focus our resources on the issues that matter most to the communities we serve.”
The PCC will present the following proposals at the Police and Crime Panel on Wednesday 7 February:
4.91% increase in the council tax element for policing. This equates to £277.50 for an average Band D property (25p per week).
Read the draft budget report for 2024/25 here.
