North Yorkshire residents’ tax increase to help pay for extra police officers

North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner Julia Mulligan is promising to invest in visible, local policing as the amount residents pay to North Yorkshire Police in the year from April – known as the precept – was today unanimously supported.
16 January 2019 ......     Julia Mulligan, the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. Picture Tony Johnson.16 January 2019 ......     Julia Mulligan, the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. Picture Tony Johnson.
16 January 2019 ...... Julia Mulligan, the North Yorkshire Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner. Picture Tony Johnson.

The additional money will be used by the Chief Constable to increase the number of police officers by an additional 50 police officers and 20 PCSOs, bringing North Yorkshire Police almost back to 2010 levels of resources.

The new resources will be used for:

* local and visible policing teams across the county to tackle offences like burglaries and anti-social behaviour

* a new ‘city task force’ for York

* more work on mental health, and

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* brand new teams focusing on prevention and early intervention.

The precept proposal for North Yorkshire Police was agreed by the Police, Fire and Crime Panel who accepted the Commissioner’s plans.

Two weeks ago, the panel made the decision to veto the original proposal.

After a veto takes place, rules state that a revised proposal must be submitted.

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This was provided to the panel alongside the further information requested.

The new proposals, which are now confirmed, will see an increase of an average of 44p per week (£22.95 per year) to the police precept – a change from the original £23.95 per year proposal originally put forward.

The precept for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service was agreed by the panel on February 5. It will see an average increase of 4p per week (£2.07 per year or 2.99%) for residents in their council tax bills.

Commissioner Julia Mulligan said: “I am pleased that we now have certainty on the level of investment which will be available to North Yorkshire Police to support the plans to boost local and visible policing across the county.

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“Asking residents to pay more money is never easy, and the decision was not taken lightly, but I am certain it is the right one to ensure we keep North Yorkshire safe and feeling safe.

“I share the panel’s discomfort about the level of the rise.

“I believe the Government’s decision to pass on the responsibility of adequately funding the police to local taxpayers has placed an unfair additional burden on the public of North Yorkshire, who already pay a lot for their local police service.

“Ultimately though, given that and the challenges we face, this proposal and this decision is the right one. The responsibility is on me to ensure the Chief Constable delivers a noticeable, tangible difference to local policing across York and North Yorkshire. I expect residents to see a significant improvement by April next year at the very latest.”