Police tax hike plea slammed as 'blackmail'

The Police and Crime Commissioner, Philip Wilkinson, wrote to the council asking for its support for a proposal to increase the policing precept by £10 per year for the average household.

Mr Wilkinson told councillors this was a 4.3 per cent increase and equated to an 83p rise, per month, per household, in a Band D property. He said savings of more than £4million will need to be made if the precept is not increased next year.

He warned that unless he gets the rise, “I would have no alternative but to reduce essential services, which would include from within our community policing teams. This would unquestionably lead to a less visible policing presence in your communities and a reduction in service levels.”

That got the backs up of councillors at Tuesday night’s meeting of the Community and Civic Resources Committee.

Cllr Ian Hopkins led the councillors’ revolt against the PCC’s plea for more money, saying “it is pure blackmail that the PCC says he will have to cut services if he doesn’t get it.”

Cllr Ian Hopkins was not impressed

Cllr Hopkins told this newspaper that he was speaking on behalf of many residents of Devizes.

“That [the feeling of being blackmailed] is the view that a lot of people have said to me,” he said.

He added: “With the cost of living crisis, the rise in National Insurance and the hikes in energy bills, people are saying that they simply can’t afford an increase in the police precept.

“They don’t like the perceived threat from the PCC that this could result in cuts. That’s why I said it was blackmail, because it’s almost like putting a gun to people’s heads.

“People also feel that this should be money that comes from central government and that is my view too. Nationally, the police has been underfunded for years and my view is that it should be central government that funds it out of money from central taxation, like the NHS.”

But Mr Wilkinson says he has no alternative for increasing police funding.

In his letter he said: “Even with an increase of £10, we still need to find nearly £1.4m of savings, but this is much more doable than the prospect of the savings required if there is no increase at all.

“The decision to ask for your support for a £10 per year increase has been a difficult one – and one that I would not make if there was an alternative.

“Given the landscape of Wiltshire rural crime remains a priority for me, in addition to road safety and serious and organised crime, only by investing in our police service and allocating resources effectively can we address the root causes of crime and enforce the law.

“Wiltshire is the fourth lowest-funded force in the country and ensuring we get our fair share from the centre will always be top of my agenda. However, we also need to ensure the funding we do have is used efficiently and focused on the front-line and delivery.”

PCC Philip Wilkinson says he has 'no alternative'

The PCC said a £10 increase would enable Wiltshire Police to pay for 62 more officers, put more police on the roads, expand the child abuse and child internet exploitation teams to safeguard children and “improve the way Wiltshire Police tackles Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) such as training for frontline staff to improve the service victims receive, bolstered digital investigation capability with the introduction of five new digital media investigators and dedicated officers and staff to review case files with the aim of improving investigation standards.”

The committee voted to reject supporting the precept rise but, at the instigation of Cllr Iain Wallis, agreed to invite the commissioner to meet them for further discussions.

The PCC’s public consultation on the proposal to increase the policing precept ended on Wednesday.