Police charge to rise by £12 a year for Cambridgeshire householders

More than 3,000 people responded to a consultation exercise launched by Cambridgeshire police and crime commissioner Jason Ablewhite who wanted to know how much people were prepared to spend on policing.

A total of 3,268 people took part and of those 78.3 per cent said they were prepared to pay an extra £12 a year. Just over 13 per cent of respondents said they did not want to pay any more and 8.3 per cent said they were prepared to pay an extra £4 a year.

The results have now been presented to Cambridgeshire Police and Crime Panel which agreed the £12 rise and it will come into effect in April, subject to formal rubber-stamping.

Mr Ablewhite said “I would like to thank everyone who took the time to respond to my consultation. It is important that I gauge the opinion of the people then making decisions such as this and the responses have given me a clear indication of the broad support people have for the police.

“A clear theme was that people were prepared to pay more if the money was spent on more officers that could make a difference. I can give my assurance that the additional money raised through this year’s council tax will be used to recruit 55 new warranted officers.”

Mr Ablewhite said: “This will not solve all our problems. There is still increasing demand on the front line and significant financial savings to be made.

“However, these additional resources will enable the Chief Constable to increase front line policing thereby reducing pressure on officers, increasing the ability to bring offenders to justice and help keep people safe.”

Mr Ablewhite had favoured the higher charge which he said would make a “big difference” to policing in the county and there was substantial support for the move from early in the consultation.

The police council tax charge has to be added to that of the fire service, county, district and parish councils, most of which will also be going up.