Council tax increase agreed to fund more police on Rochdale streets
Together with the central government policing grant, the increased funding from the precept would fund 438 additional police officers of which 60 would be dedicated to road safety
An increase to the police precept of council tax has been agreed which will fund more police on the borough’s streets.
The Greater Manchester Police, Fire and Crime Panel has unanimously agreed to the Mayor Andy Burnham’s plans for a £10 council tax increase for police - one year after the force was placed in special measures.
The proposal will increase the police precept for 2022/23 by 83p per month for a Band D property or 55p per month for a Band A property.
Currently, the police precept for a Band D property is £218.30 a year which would increase next year to £228.30 a year and a Band A property will go up from £145.53 to £152.20.
Together with the central government policing grant, the increased funding from the precept would fund 438 additional police officers of which 60 would be dedicated to road safety freeing up officers to focus on public transport.
It would also fund the 'transformation' of the GMP contact centre which deals with 999 and 101 calls with more staff to ensure calls are answered quickly.
The funding would also allow the force to continue with the new Operation Avro days of action which see a 'surge' of officers and specially trained teams dealing with issues communities, including those in Rochdale, tell the force they want to see dealt with.
Mr Burnham claimed the proposed precept increase is needed to help make up for many years of funding cuts that have ‘hollowed out’ GMP.
Between 2011-19, he said the Government cut the grant they provide to GMP in real terms by £215 million, which has resulted in 2,000 fewer police officers, 1,000 fewer support staff and devastating cuts to other essential resources.
Chair of the Police, Fire and Crime Panel, and Rochdale Councillor Janet Emsley, said: “The Panel agreed to endorse the Mayor’s proposal to increase the police precept because we believe it is right that our police have the resources they need to do the job we expect them to do and make the improvements the inspectors has asked of them.
“We want the public to have confidence in policing in Greater Manchester so we need to give them the tools to do that and keep our Community safe.”
Last year, a damning report by inspectors found that Greater Manchester Police had failed to record 80,000 crimes in 12 months.
Subsequently, Mr Burnham did not increase the police precept last year after GMP was placed in special measures, saying 'rewarding failure' would send the wrong message.
He said: “Last year, I made the decision not to increase the police precept by the maximum amount allowed. This was because I wanted to send a clear message to GMP that improvements were needed following a difficult inspection.
“Under our new Chief Constable, we are beginning to see real change and, in my judgement, this is the time to back him, his plan and our police force.
“This increase in the precept will help us to deliver a transformation of GMP’s contact centre, including improvements to the handling of 999 and 101 calls, to give the public the confidence that their calls will be dealt with swiftly and officers sent immediately to those in need."
