The public will be better protected from crime next year, as police forces across England and Wales are set to receive a funding boost of up to £798m, ministers announced yesterday (18 December).
The additional money brings funding up to £19.5bn - which equals a 4.3% cash increase and a 2% real terms increase.
The majority of this funding is for local forces, the Government said, with an additional £746m allowing them to prioritise the crimes impacting communities, including antisocial behaviour and shop theft.
It follows the Government’s Neighbourhood Policing Guarantee which put named, contactable officers in every community, increased peak time patrols in town centres and placed antisocial behaviour leads in every force.
Crime & Policing Minister, Sarah Jones (left) – who met with representatives from The Fed earlier this week, said: “We are providing police forces with a significant increase in funding that will allow them to step up their efforts in tackling the crimes that are blighting our communities, including knife crime and antisocial behaviour.
“But we know that funding alone will not deliver our ambitions. Police leaders have been crying out for reform, and our upcoming white paper will deliver this to free up officer time and get bobbies back on our streets.”
A final settlement providing more detail on grant allocations will be released early next year once the Government’s police reform white paper has been published.
This will set out landmark reforms to bring policing into the modern age with the technology, innovation and structures forces need to fight crime and protect communities.
This funding increase follows the Government’s Winter of Action – a nationwide crackdown on crime and antisocial behaviour, and builds on its Safer Streets summer initiative, which covered nearly 650 town centres and led to over 16,000 arrests and fines, primarily for shoplifting and antisocial behaviour.
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