‘WE will improve policing’ – that’s the pledge from the Police and Crime Commissioner for West Mercia after plans were confirmed to increase his budget by £13million.
The cash follows a public consultation exercise which saw 75 per cent of people in the force area back proposals to put extra officers on the streets.
The £13m equates to an additional 115 pairs of feet on the beat, pushing force numbers to their highest number since 2012.
However it is not without a cost and the average home will see an extra £1.60 per month in council tax.
PCC Campion said there were a series of measures in the Police budget to ensure communities got the best return on that investment.
Key improvements have been agreed with Chief Constable Anthony Bangham around things such as emergency response times, police community visibility and unresourced incidents.
“Our communities have been clear that they support our police and want to see more officers tackling crime and keeping us safe,” said PCC Campion.
“I have listened to that feedback and my budget delivers the resources the Chief Constable has told me he needs.
“The public are trusting more of their hard earned money to me with a justified expectation that it will be used wisely and services will improve.
“I will work tirelessly to make sure they get best value and return for that investment.”
He added: “This will not be a case of simply pouring more money into the force and hoping for the best.
“I have agreed some challenging targets with the Chief Constable and will follow those up in the months ahead to make sure our communities are getting the service they need and deserve.”
The PCC’s final budget proposals also include more money for tackling rural crime, CCTV schemes, road safety, and effective schemes to prevent crime in our communities.
West Mercia’s Police and Crime Panel will scrutinise the plans next month.
