How much we pay towards policing on the Isle of Wight is going up again, by nearly 4%, but it could lead to more officers on our streets. The Hampshire and Isle of Wight Police and Crime Panel agreed today (Friday) to increase the amount a Band D taxpayer pays for policing by £10 a year, or 19p a week. The near 4% increase will raise the precept to £261.46 a year for a Band D taxpayer, from April. The increase will help bolster Hampshire and Isle of Wight’s Police and Crime Commissioner’s budget for police services across the region by adding another £7million a year, bringing the total cash pot up to £462.2million. Some of the things the rise of funding will bring across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight include:
- 75 new officers including 30 sergeants and 20 constables to help local policing
- 10 new police front counters across the region as part of a £73.2million estate investment programme
- Nearly £1.3million reinvestment for improvement to intelligence functions after austerity cuts
- An increase in support for offender management, which in some cases will allow ongoing monitoring of offenders who had committed serious crimes after they leave prison
- Extra funding for vehicle replacements, totting the specific budget up to £4million a year
In a public consultation, with more than 6,300 responses, 64% of respondents were supportive of an increase to the precept, but 31% were not. The Government has allowed Police and Crime Commissioners (PCCs) to raise the precept by £13 which Hampshire & Isle of Wight Constabulary’s Chief Constable Scott Chilton did ask for. Speaking today, Mr Chilton said:
“It would be remiss of me to not ask for the full amount, that is what I need to protect the public the best I can. “It is a case of how fast and how hard we go to make the reforms we need to make us one of the safest places in the country, although I do recognise the cost of living crisis and the pressures on the public purse.”
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Commissioner Donna Jones only recommended the average £10 increase, however, which she said was a tough decision but was conscious of the money troubles already affecting some communities and how they may not be able to pay any further increase. She said the force was also looking at making savings in some areas which would go towards investment in others. Members of the police and crime panel did highlight how money from the Government had reduced over the years, creating a funding gap, which has meant the burden now falls to local taxpayers to fund investment. With the increase, the public will now contribute 41% of the overall funding for the Constabulary with the other 59% coming from central Government. In 2010/11, the public paid just 33% of the the force’s funding.
What are these police front counters across the region?Do they mean 10 new police stations?Can anybody please enlighten me to what they are and where they will be.
Presumably like the new “Police Station” just opened in Cowes to great fanfare which is only open to the Public for 3 hours a week with a telephone handset on the outside wall to call the mainland call centre for help. Pure electioneering and a public relations exercise.
1 opened at Cowes, 1 day a week
Whatever I have to pay towards policing I would like to see some policing done to rid the streets near me of the drugs. Please. Thanks.
Knew our Council tax would be raided again.
If vehicles parking on the pavement in Regent Street or in the Loading bay
opposite chubby’s were booked by plod, so much revenue could be raised
without taking it from our taxes.
Soon it will be cheaper to live in my van,
No Council Tax to pay
No Utility Bill’s etc etc
It already is cheaper to live in your Van, not soon
“With the increase, the public contribute 41% of the overall funding for the Constabulary with the other 59% coming from central Government. In 2010/11, the public paid just 33% of the the force’s funding.”
This is presumably from the Police press release. And it is a bit of a lie. The public provide 100% of overall funding. The 59% from central Government doesn’t just magic out of thin air, it comes from other forms of tax like income tax & VAT, and business taxes which we end up paying indirectly as part of the price of goods & services. So to say the public contribute 41% or previously “just” 33% is plain wrong.
What Policing?
Didn’t know the Island had any Police?
Traffic Officer’s yes.
Police to serve the tax paying home owner’s????
Neither did I
Same old story, we pay more and will get less with OUR money going to Hampshire and not the Island at all. A bloody great con. Did we expect any different? no!!
I will believe there is more police on the street’s when I see it !!!
Still have half the police we had five years ago yet play a lot more for it. Tory britan where all they do is steal money and lie to the press.
I’m sure they say this every year,but when I need the police they don’t turn up,when u report a crime they don’t want to know, and why should we pay for Hampshire
I pay more to get them old people from driving on are roads come on police, think off all the trouble they bring
Precept is just an excuse to raise council tax to higher level than is legally allowed. It is essentially a stealth council tax.
Police, waste services, fire services, refuse.and Street lighting etc were always included in your council tax until a couple of years ago until they invented this new “precept”
I suppose there will be a separate precept for each freaking service going forewards, allowing them to essentially raise council tax as much as they bloody want.
50% if they like, Hell, why not double it eh? There’s no rules on precept increasing.
Yeah.. cheers for that. Anyone that votes Tory seriously needs their head testing
If the Island has been granted an extra £3million, why are we having to pay more for our police funding ?
The 3 million will be swallowed up by social services. Based on last years astronomical spending by them, to provide extra care for 3 people over a couple of weekends.
Once again we have to cough up for policing that we do not have, the current force is unfit for purpose as it is, how about cutting back on the overpaid administration starting with that waste of oxygen jones and do away with the pcc altogether.
Just another excuse to fund Donna’s pies.
The price of Pies have gone up recently
Only the Fire and town councils left to hit us with unreasonable tax rises.
Sandown residents were hit with a 50% rise last year with no explanation and nothing to show for it, despite already having one of the highest precepts on the island.
With the next set of local elections still a year away I see no reason why we won’t get clobbered yet again this year as well.
So long as they aren’t wasting money on expensive electric vehicles that’s OK.
Did that last year on them bikes, to this day I’ve not seen them about.
The price goes up year on year yet we get less and less for it with the majority of crimes not even getting investigated any more.
Can someone tell me exactly how the police precept is different to paying protection money to mobsters? You get nothing for it, but if you refuse to pay bad things happen to you.
Our Corrupt Police Force does not deserve an ounce of respect, let alone another friggin’ pay rise, FFS!!
Yes I would say that 8 out of 10 police officers are corrupt… what are they doing about that I wonder..
’75 new officers including 30 sergeants and 20 constables’ , do they come in boxed sets for some secret store, Does it not take years to train a police officer let alone as Sergeant. Also new vehicles the ones they have cannot have many miles on them as they are always surrounding the station at Ryde. this is all wishful thinking
why not base what we pay on what crimes are solved and attendance figures / times…… I see every day drunks, drugs, people parking where they like, litter, graffiti, selling non duty paid cigarettes, and even when they are arrested, they go to court, they get fined 80 quid or so……. Ban mainlanders from the island if they commit violent crime, fine them hard as well….. also open up a prison and jail them as we all know that the remit is not to give custodial sentences as we have no empty prisons – mainly full of foreigners that sap up about £50K a year EACH to be jailed at our expense.
Actually, we do have an empty prison, right here on the island. Camp Hill was shut years ago and has been sitting empty ever since. Time to recommission it…
Unfortunately everything is going up.
inc wages (ok not for all)
So food gone up, oil gone up, Fuel gone up.
So wages go up to help cover all the price rises. This do include Police, council staff, which includes the ones that clean up behind the general public.
Commissioner Donna Jones only recommended the average £10 increase, however, which she said was a tough decision but was conscious of the money troubles already affecting some communities and how they may not be able to pay any further increase.
…
although Donna could have said – we won’t be charging any extra as we aren’t providing the service the island expects and we need to make cuts in pointless areas such as painting rainbow cars.
What’s a policeman? And what do they do?
Here is a dictionary definition…
Policeman: “Reclusive species with a distinctive blue plumage, purpose unknown. Though once a common sight in both urban and rural settings, their numbers have declined significantly and they are now thought by many to be virtually extinct. May be allergic to sunlight as the few sightings that occur tend to be inside speed camera vans and driving their brightly coloured vehicles at high speed.”
Thanks Mark.
If we are paying for them id like to spot one occasionally. I’m told they are trying to re-introduce them back into Hampshire and the Isle Of Wight. Probably mean just Hampshire, which is the norm. Shame really as they used to reduce and control the criminal species.
They are people who protect the elite
Another year they get more money for the same poor service what a rip off, has anyone seen those electric bikes that our money was wasted on?
We need to find a legal loop hole to avoid paying for a not fit for purpose service
Imagine if you were foolish enough to take all your savings to an amusement arcade and start pumping it into fruit machines which only had a 3-5% chance of ever paying out, people would think you were mad and yet here we are paying for policing where of the crimes that do get reported (with most people no longer bothering because they know nothing will ever happen), only a similar percentage result in anything ever happening
What the fuck is a precept?? are we in 1700s also island will get fuck all as usual..