2017 has been quite a year for all of us and I think we should look back over the last twelve months and appreciate how very fortunate we are to live and work in one of the safest counties in the country. Suffolk has one of the best performing constabularies in the country and much of that is down to the hard work and dedication of the whole organisation for which, as Police and Crime Commissioner, I am deeply grateful.
There have been some huge challenges this year, both financially and from increased demand, but these have been met head on in a typically no nonsense “can do” Suffolk way. Suffolk Police can certainly look back on a job well done.
As for next year, the biggest challenge is financial. On December 19th the Policing Minister made his announcement about funding for the next financial year. Whilst we will receive the same amount of core government funding as in 2017/18, the bottom line is this does not take into account the impact of inflation nor additional policing costs, so I will need to raise the council tax precept to cover this. I understand the impact an increase in council tax will have on you as a resident of Suffolk but I have a difficult decision to make.
Please take a look at the survey (link below) and let me know what you think.
https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/SPCCpreceptsurvey
The festive season for me is a time for reflection and appreciation for what we have and how we can do more for those who are less fortunate in society. I also hope you will all be able to spend some time with your nearest and dearest – I often think life is so busy and hectic that these important opportunities can be overlooked if we are not careful, especially at this time of the year.
Lastly I would like to thank everyone for their support and advice and wish you all a very happy and peaceful Christmas and New Year.