Police ‘must get results’ with £1.1bn
Extra funding for forces welcomed, but concerns raised that some will come from higher council tax
POLICE chiefs need to “bring an end” to street violence and improve their performance in return for the biggest rise in funding for a decade, the policing minister has declared.
In an exclusive article for The Daily Telegraph, below, Kit Malthouse – who helped Boris Johnson cut knife crime in London – said the public “need to see results” for the £1.1 billion extra that police have been awarded for 2020-21.
He also demanded that they slash their backroom staff to put more officers on the front line and improve their use of technology to combat the surge in violent crime.
The £1.1 billion – comprising a £700million grant and £400 million from council tax and some money for pensions – is designed to deliver 6,000 extra police officers next year towards the target of 20,000 by 2023.
“Lives are being lost. Families are being devastated. Communities are being torn apart. We must bring an end to this violence. This is the public’s money and they need to see results for their investment,” said Mr Malthouse.
Ministers are holding back £168 million of the £700million Government grant in a ring-fenced fund which will be released on condition forces hit their recruitment targets.
The extra money takes the police budget to £15.2billion, up 7.5 per cent on this year. Part of it will, however, have to come through council tax, with police and crime commissioners required to increase their precept on band D properties by £10 to meet their share of £248million.
Priti Patel, the Home Secretary, said: “The police must now make full use of this significant investment to deliver for the public.”
John Apter, chairman of the Police Federation for England and Wales, welcomed the “better financial settlement” but said it was unfair to pass the buck to police and crime commissioners and local taxpayers. “This is simply unfair, as we now have the public paying twice for the same service. It’s creating a two-tier system where wealthier communities have more money available for local policing than others,” said Mr Apter.
“Boom-and-bust, short-term, oneyear financial settlements do not work, and forces shouldn’t have to operate on a ‘hand-to-mouth’ basis. The Government has admitted the funding formula is outdated and must urgently address this,” he said.
“Over the last decade the police service has been hit hard by budget cuts and it needs more than a one-year cash injection to put things right. So this increase is welcome but it must be the start of long-term, genuine investment in policing.”