Policing services across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough will be in a stronger position to protect the public, meet rising demand and ride out future challenges under budget plans proposed by Police and Crime Commissioner Darryl Preston.

The PCC’s suggested 4.8 per cent increase to the policing element of the council tax will go ahead after Police and Crime Panel members backed the plans during a meeting yesterday (31^st January 2024). This equates to an extra 17p per week for Band A property and 25p a week for the average Band D household (£13 per year).

The Commissioner warned that without the additional income, it would be impossible to protect policing services at their current levels and maintain the performance improvements delivered by the force over the past 12 months.

He consulted residents across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough over his plans and, of those that expressed a preference, most were supportive of the small rise, which will help sustain the strong and visible policing the public expects.

Darryl has spoken honestly about current challenges impacting the force which include ongoing national cost increases and inflation. Additionally, the force has record numbers of new officers to support and continually develop, this means any funding must work harder.

Darryl said: “I am pleased the Police and Crime Panel has endorsed my budget plans for 2024/25. Resourcing the police is crucial for driving further cuts in crime and protecting our future resilience against the growing demands of violent crime, fraud and cybercrime and call-handling pressures. Without extra funds to support improvement, the only alternative is a reduction in our policing service which nobody wants to see.

“The cost-of-living crisis is putting a strain on all household budgets and policing is no exception. I am grateful for the public’s understanding of the difficulties we face in balancing the books and ensuring the force remains well-equipped to fight crime and secure justice for victims effectively in the future.

“The force has made it clear it will continue to seek out new and efficient ways of working to identify further cost savings that can be redirected into community policing, and I fully support this.

“I am extremely proud of the progress made over the past 12 months and I have no doubt that the record numbers of officers on our streets - 1,343 in 2015, and 1,732 now – have played their part.

“As many more officers conclude their initial training, the force will find itself in an even stronger position to deliver a visible and accessible presence in our neighbourhoods to tackle the issues that matter most to the public.”

Over the past 12 months, the Commissioner has worked closely with the force and partners to ensure Cambridgeshire and Peterborough remain safe places to live, achieving significant reductions in neighbourhood crime (23%) and rural crime (21%) in comparison to pre-Covid times.

Since 2021, £10.2m has been invested in supporting victims of crime – enabling services like those provided by the Cambridge and Peterborough Rape Crisis Partnership to continue.

The PCC has also contributed £820k towards the county’s six Community Safety Partnerships between 2022-25 providing dedicated Problem-Solving Coordinators to work with communities and partners to resolve issues such as anti-social behaviour and fly-tipping.

Other successes include:

37% drop in residential burglary offences

15% drop in personal robbery offences

12% drop in theft from the person offences

48% drop in hare coursing and poaching

56% reduction for cycle theft in Cambridge city.

As of 1st February 2024, figures included are from the period 1st October 2022 to 30th Sept 2023 compared to pre-Covid times (1st January 2019 – 31st December 2019).