Would you pay more for police?

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One of the responsibilities of police and crime commissioners is to set the budget for policing.

A small proportion of the cost of policing is paid from your council tax with the rest coming directly from government.

This local council tax element is called the precept, which I set each year following close consultation with local taxpayers.

As your PCC in Sussex, I have to consider the Chief Constable’s operational policing plan and determine whether the amount you pay for policing locally should stay the same or rise to allow investment in key areas.

I have launched a public consultation to find out if local taxpayers would be prepared to pay an additional amount next year, per household, to enable me to invest directly in two areas that the Chief Constable has highlighted as priorities for policing:

1. Protecting children and vulnerable adults in Sussex from exploitation and abuse.

2. Digital forensic capability to retrieve, analyse and store information held on computers, mobiles and tablets.

You can find out more about these investment proposals and have your say in the public consultation here: https://www.sussex-pcc.gov.uk/public-consultations/.

The consultation will remain open until Friday, January 8, 2016.

Once it has closed I am duty-bound to inform the Sussex police and crime panel of my considerations.

This decision will be reviewed by the panel on Friday, January 22, 2016.

Your feedback is important to me – thank you for taking the time to tell me what you think.

Katy Bourne

Sussex Police & Crime Commissioner

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