Boosting police funding:
- In December 2020, we announced a £636 million cash boost for police forces across England and Wales, taking total police funding up to £15.8 billion. This means total funding for Dorset police is now £151.9 million, with a £7.7 million cash boost this year alone.
Putting 20,000 more police officers on our streets:
- On the steps of Downing Street last year, the Prime Minister pledged to put 20,000 more police officers on our streets by 2023, and to have the first 6,000 in place by March 2021. We have delivered on this promise ahead of schedule with 6,620 new officers recruited so far. This means that the 1253 police officers across Dorset have now been bolstered with 50 new recruits from the uplift. The latest estimate is for 1420 police officers by 2023 and I intend to increase that still further.
Providing officers with the tools they need to keep us safe:
- If we want our frontline officers to keep the public and themselves safe, we need to give them the tools and equipment they need to properly do their jobs. That is why we have given 315 new Taser devices to police officers across Dorset and delivered an extra £259,875 to help fund this.
Giving more funding to PCCs so they can deliver on the people’s priorities:
- Persistent street crime and burglary has a corrosive effect on neighbours and communities – and we will not stand by and let it happen. That is why we have delivered targeted funding for Dorset to help the areas most affected by crime, including an extra £266,357 through our Safer Street Fund – which will go towards measures proven to cut crime such locked gates around alleyways, increased street-lighting and the installation of CCTV.
Whilst it is great that the Government has given this extra funding - I am not content that Dorset received the fourth smallest grant in the country and has much greater ambition and will definitely ensure more in the future.
- Dorset being a relatively safe county did not meet the threshold of harm to receive Violence Reduction Unit funding. I understand that we have our own operation and will be reviewing that to ensure it is operating optimally for our needs.
