As your Police and Crime Commissioner, it is my duty to ensure that our county is a safe place for all.
Today, good policing is not just about the number of officers on neighbourhood teams.
The profile of crime in Bedfordshire is changing and evolving rapidly, and we cannot ignore the vital requirement for resources dedicated to tackling all crime including violence against women and children, drug crime and serious violence, cybercrime and fraud.
It is important that our officers not only respond to emergencies with urgency but are also preventing crime.
The provision of such essential services comes at a considerable cost.
It is estimated that in 2025/26, Bedfordshire Police will have to spend £156 million to maintain its services to the public.
Last week, the policing minister announced the 2025/26 funding settlement for police services in England and Wales.
For the coming year, the government has increased its allocation to the police service in Bedfordshire by 6.1%.
I welcome the uplift after over a decade of underfunding under the previous government of policing both nationally and in Bedfordshire.
Whilst the increase is positive there is a need for money for policing, but it would not have been possible for the government to address over a decade of underfunding in one year.
A fundamental reform of police funding is essential.
Bedfordshire police is funded by both government and council taxpayers. Over the last fourteen years the council tax proportion of the funding has increased as government funding has been cut – it is now 58% government grant and 42% council tax.
As Police and Crime Commissioner, I am committed to securing value for money and to maximising the impact of every pound spent.
I require the Chief Constable to deliver the budget efficiently and effectively and recognise that this may require some reductions in some departmental budgets and/or the redeployment of officers and staff.
The 2025/26 police budget will be reflective of the needs and demands on policing across the county.
We will take advantage of collaboration with regional police services and wider local public sector partners, and the use of AI to drive improvements in productivity. The budget will be aligned with the Police and Crime Plan.
I aim to reinvigorate local policing to match and go beyond the Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee, as resources allow. But we need to invest in all areas of policing – not just local policing, to equip our police service to make Bedfordshire safer.
Although we have had the core settlement, we are waiting for the government’s decisions on special grants which help the police service to tackle gun and serious and organised crime.
These grants represent five per cent of the total budget.
Even with the uplift, budgets are tight, and it does mean increasing the police element of the council tax to ensure we can maintain critical police services.
Therefore, I am consulting on my plan to increase the police element of the council tax bill by 5.28% (£14 for an average Band D council taxpayer – equal to only 27p a week).
If the council tax increase were to be less than this, there would have to be reductions in police numbers with a detrimental impact on everyone in the county.
I will always expect the police to maximise impact with the available resources, eliminate waste and never use the lack of funding as an excuse for poor performance or failing the people of Bedfordshire.
Our communities deserve the highest standard of policing. I invite all residents to engage in the consultation and share their views. Let us all commit to making Bedfordshire safer and fairer in 2025.
Editors note: This column was scheduled for 26 December 2024 but due to a technical problem did not publish. We apologise to the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for the delay in publishing this column.
This is a monthly guest column provided by
elected Police and Crime Commissioner, John Tizard (Labour).
It is published unedited and does
not reflect the views of the Bedford Independent.
