Atherstone residents face potential increase in council tax to pay for extra police officers

Extra police officers, more special constables and a new state-of the-art control room are among the pledges made by Warwickshire's police and crime commissioner after county councillors approved his budget for the next financial year.

But in a bid to balance the books and not dip into the police force's reserves, homeowners across the county will have to pay an average of an extra £14.99 on their council tax bills.

Commissioner Philip Seccombe said: "No longer can we rely on subsidising the budget from those healthy reserves which I was left by my predecessor. We are at a level where we cannot dip into those reserves any more so it is fiscally prudent that we drive for a balanced budget – income coming in equating to that expenditure going out. That has been achieved in this budget and I think that is a step forward and will hold Warwickshire in really good stead in years to come.

"This has resulted in £4m of savings being implemented by the end of this financial year so that we can go forward on April 1 having made those savings.

"My aim, and I think it will happen by March 2022, is that we will have 1,100 officers in Warwickshire. That will be a record number and considerably more than the 800-odd that I inherited when I took this position over."

Mr Seccombe said that the plan was to move into the new police control room later in the year which would have an improved computer system.

And he added: "This budget will give us an operational benefit of 41 more police officers. We want to increase the number of special constables to support the police across the county. My wish is to increase the specials by 50 per cent this year and with further enhancements in years to come."

Among the cuts currently taking place to reach the £4m savings target are the loss of 124 jobs although 50 of those positions were already vacant.

The commissioner explained: "Most of the redundancies are what we call police staff investigators (PSIs). There was a shortage of detectives so some forces like Warwickshire created PSIs, many of them as a second career back into the force. I am convinced that the new detectives coming into that part of the force will provide a better service to Warwickshire Police.

"I think it is fair to say that there will be a degree of uncertainty and challenge while there is this changeover period but the chief constable has assured me that that period will be kept to a minimum."

Nine members of the panel voted in favour of the police budget, one voted against and another abstained.