Police and Crime Commissioner Joy Allen has welcomed a new report calling for urgent action to address inequalities in the way police forces are funded.
In his annual assessment of policing in England and Wales, His Majesty’s chief inspector of constabulary Andy Cooke described the current police funding formula as ‘outdated’ and ‘unfair’.
He said central government funding does not go to where it is needed most and that there is an increasing reliance on raising money through local council tax.
In a further appraisal of services to victims of crime and the most vulnerable, he said too many are still being let down and are not satisfied with the service they receive from the police and the criminal justice system.
Since being elected in 2021, Commissioner Allen relentlessly challenged the previous government for a fairer share of central funding.
She has lobbied for a change in the current formula to recognise the higher rate of crime in the Durham force area, its unique social-economic problems and the difficulties it faces in raising revenue through the precept due to a higher proportion of Band A properties.
The County Durham and Darlington PCC wrote to newly appointed chancellor Rachel Reeves to raise the issue and explain the ongoing disadvantage faced by Durham and other forces who lose out to the bigger metropolises.
She warned that the force’s finances had never been more stretched and highlighted that its current officer headcount remains 128 short of 2010 levels, despite the uplift.
And she urged the chancellor to consider giving PCCs with below average precept yields a higher grant to protect the gulf from widening year-on-year.
She said: “This year’s annual State of Policing report highlights what I have long highlighted to every authority going, including HMICFRS: that without urgent improvements to the criminal justice system, victims will continue to struggle to get access to the justice they deserve.
“While it’s pleasing to see that despite the challenges, the heavy demand on our officers and an overstretched workforce here in Durham, the force still manages to punch above its weight.
“The report singles Durham out for out positive performance in terms of detecting crime.
“However, like many other forces, we are at a tipping point and something has to drastically change.
“As the new Labour lead for the APCC Finance portfolio I will be working tirelessly to inform and influence a new fair funding formula and setting of police grants.
“It is critical forces have the funding and resources they need to reduce risk in their communities and make people safer.
“Public confidence has plummeted, and we are letting down victims of crime because there simply isn’t enough left in the pot to deliver the service they rightly expect.
“As His Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Constabulary rightly points out, forces need more support than is currently possible within the present funding arrangements.
“Without addressing this division, we are simply setting them up to fail. Now is the time for change and I will do everything I can to secure the reform we need to meet my promise to deliver justice for victims of crime and an effective, first-class policing service for all our people.”
In his report, Mr Cooke called for a review of how forces are funded to make sure funds are distributed according to the needs of communities.
He also said forces needed to have a reasonable degree of certainty about how much money they will receive over a period of a few years to allow them to plan their spending and the services they will provide to meet community needs.
This, he said, would give them the best chance of being both financially ‘resilient’ and ‘effective and preventing and detecting crime.
