Police to charge 5% more in council tax from April

Avon and Somerset Police will charge more council tax from April.

The police and crime panel voted on Tuesday in favour of the Police and Crime Commissioner's (PCC) proposal to increase the police precept - the portion of council tax allocated to police services - by 5%.

For a band D property, this will see £14 added to the annual bill for policing, taking it from £279 to £293.

The increase will generate an additional £8.5m for the force, the PCC's office said. Chief Constable Sarah Crew told the meeting that even with this increase, the force would need to find £6m of savings.

Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) Clare Moody said: "I know the cost of living is a concern for many, and I did not take this decision lightly."

Without the increase, the force would have faced a significant deficit, even after making cuts committed to in its £6.4m savings plan over the next year, which is set to see 80 fewer Police Community Support Officers (PSCO).

It comes as Avon and Somerset Police said it had already lost 60 PSCOs in 12 months, between September 2023 and September 2024, a decrease of 19%.

The chair of the police and crime panel, councillor Heather Shearer, said it had approved the increase "just to keep the wheels on".

The decision followed a public consultation, in which 3,146 residents across the region shared their views.

The majority of responses, 52%, supported a precept increase of £10 or more.

Ms Crew said the need for a rise was because of an increase in demand on the force - which she said was "not about crime".

"Crime is only about 25% of our demand, we are dealing with lots of other things," she said.

She added much of a police officer's time was supervising people in need of help until "somebody with the right skills comes along".

"I don't come to this with a defeatist mindset. We have to prioritise. We will respond to your emergencies consistently and well. We will see justice done for you," Ms Crew added.

Meanwhile, Ms Moody added: "It is my responsibility to ensure our police service has the resources to continue tackling crime, keeping communities safe, and improving trust and confidence in policing.

"It is an annual increase and we know police needs that funding right now."

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