More police set to be recruited - but levels still lower than 2010

189 OFFICERS TO BE PAID FOR BY GOVERNMENT AND COUNCIL TAX

NEARLY 200 police officers are to be recruited in Leicestershire using increases in Government grants and council tax.

Police and crime commissioner Lord (Willy) Bach’s latest budget was approved this week and will see an increase in the amount of money spent policing the city, county and Rutland for the first time in a decade.

Lord Bach’s proposals will see 100 more officers recruited, using a £10 per household increase in the police council tax precept from April, in addition to 89 paid for from Government cash as part of a national fund to enlist 20,000 more officers.

The boost to numbers means the force will have 2,104 police officers by the end of next year.

This is, however, still more than 200 fewer than there were 10 years ago when austerity began.

The Labour peer told the Leicestershire Police and Crime Panel: “The (government) settlement, and here I choose my words quite carefully, was pretty generous.

“For the first time in over a decade I am proposing that in addition to the 107 new officers that we agreed last year, financed out of precept and reserves, and in addition to what I call the 89 new ‘national’ police officers the Government is funding, I am proposing an additional 100 police officers and 20 PCSOs.

“By the end of March 2021 we will have 2,104 police officers in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland. It still does not bring us back to where we were 10 years ago, when there were 2,317 officers.

“We lost over 500 of them so by 2017 we were down to 1,802 in an area where there is a growing population and the emergence of new and complex crimes.”

Chief Constable Simon Cole told the meeting: “There’s an opportunity to make local people happy.

“I have never been to a meeting or had a letter saying ‘Dear chief constable, There’s too many police in my area.’ It doesn’t happen.”

“This is the 10th budget I have been involved in presenting. It’s been slightly perplexing because it’s the first one where the money has actually increased across that decade.”

“I have tried to capture the breadth of the mission we are involved in that does go from anti-social behaviour through to counter terrorism.”

Despite the £7.95 million increase in core funding from the Government and that £4.8 million would be generated by increasing council tax by the maximum allowable, Mr Cole said Leicestershire is not as wellfunded as it could be.

Mr Cole added: “Our relative funding does not stand up well against others. Out of 43 forces we are the 12th lowest.

“That means we have to be efficient, but it does also mean at a time of population growth that our ratio of officers to the public is low.

Mr Cole added: “I think I can look you in the eye on the issue we use this money prudently. We are really lean.

“It’s not me saying that. Her Majesty’s Inspectorate (HMI) says that.

From next month, he said, more officers would begin to be moved back to rural areas.

“It is striking that 10 years ago we had 2,300 police officers and 100,000 fewer people to police.

“If we can bet back to 2,104 and 200 PCSOs, local people will see that difference.

“It won’t be tomorrow because there has to be a lead in time but I’m strongly supportive of the budget.”