Central Government cuts Essex Police funding yet again

ESSEX Police funding from Government has been cut again as in 2017/18 it will be £101,346,560 – down from £102,782,437 in 2016/17.

“It means doing more with less, ultimately,” said Steve Taylor, Chairman of Essex Police Federation. “It means increasing the pressure on the Police and Crime Commissioner to address and engage with the people of Essex to up the size of the local contribution that the community of Essex makes.”

Steve added: “Essex is the cheapest force in the country in terms of precept, by precept we meant the council tax portion that comes to the police. Historically the people of Essex have paid the least amount in the country for the police service that they receive.

“We’ve seen the consequences that cuts have and we see that on a daily basis. And the Police and Crime Commissioner has the opportunity to ask the people of Essex for that little bit more so that we can start to do the things we want to do.

“We’ve started to increase our numbers, make better use of technology and protective equipment. The fact that the Government is giving us less is a reflection of the national situation, it’s no surprise to us that it is going down.

“Of course we want more from the centre, but if there’s nothing to come from the centre then we need it from ourselves, look to our local communities to see where the increase might be able to come from there.”