Thames Valley Police chief announces plans to increase tax for ongoing recruitment drive

The Thames Valley Police commissioner has announced plans to increase council tax in the next budget.

Money generated by increasing tax would support crime commissioner’s ongoing efforts to increase the number of people employed by the police force.

Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Barber revealed the plans as part of his budget for 2024/25. Specifically, the commissioner is looking to increase the number of frontline police officers.

Commissioner Barber is proposing an increase of £13 in council tax for Band D households. This extra contribution would be paired with £294 million funding from the Government, which represents a five per cent increase from 2023.

However, calculations from the commissioner's office show inflation will increase costs to £37 million.

Commissioner Barber said: “As your Police and Crime Commissioner, it is my responsibility to ensure that Thames Valley Police has the resources to effectively prevent and investigate crime, support victims and protect communities from harm.

“I am conscious of the current cost of living pressures on households. However, alongside this, economic pressures such as high utility, fuel, and vehicle costs are also continuing to significantly impact policing budgets despite a rise in government funding.

“In order to continue to keep our communities safe and to address the policing priorities of residents identified through my ongoing local crime survey, I have made the decision to increase Council Tax contributions by 25p per week for a Band D property.

“Through this, investment in policing will focus on the priorities that matter to residents with strengthened neighbourhood policing and crime prevention.”

Commissioner Barber has also revealed key areas where the policing budget will be spent:

-Funding for an additional 150 police officers across the force, including neighbourhood officers; priority crime teams to tackle burglaries, theft and shoplifting; and an increase in the Rural Crime Taskforce

• Thames Valley wide Operation Deter Youth programme to help tackle and deter young people from knife crime

-Thames Valley wide cyber awareness activity to help protect the public and businesses from cybercrime and fraud

-New investment to tackle retail crime

-Long-term investment in local community safety initiatives with local authorities

-Continued investment in Thames Valley-wide CCTV partnership

• Road safety initiatives across the Thames Valley

• Preventing reoffending through the Restart programme

• Continued investment in the forensic improvement programme

• Long-term investment in technology and infrastructure

Commissioner Barber added: “Thames Valley has more police officers than ever before, exceeding the target set by the Home Office for police officer recruitment, with a further 150 additional officers now funded through this year’s budget. This builds upon my pledge of recruiting additional police officers to ensure Thames Valley Police grows as our population increases.

“In addition, the budget will allow for investment in other key areas. This will include nearly £1 million funding to roll-out the Operation Deter youth engagement programme across the force area to help tackle knife crime, £500,000 allocated to support road safety activity, additional funding to tackle the rise in retail crime as well as the continuation of funding for services to reduce reoffending and support victims of crime.”